Knott County Fiscal Court approves budgets, road changes, leases and personnel pay adjustments

Knott County Fiscal Court met March 18 and approved a series of routine resolutions and payments, reappointments and personnel actions, the court’s presiding official said.

The court unanimously approved minutes from the March 5 meeting and adopted the fiscal 2024–25 conservation district budget. Court members approved final road-status changes for multiple roads and accepted first reading for a separate bundle of March road changes. The court voted to approve a yearly lease with Orange Land Company covering county-managed recreational acreage and authorized payment of invoices related to HVAC work at the Human Service Center and two NRCS-related title and survey invoices for Emerald Energy and Land Company.

Kevin (Treasurer) provided the finance update and the court approved February transfers, which the treasurer said included payroll and other operating transfers; FEMA had repaid the county funds that week, he reported. The court also preapproved routine April transfers.

During new business the court approved reappointments to the water board and set county cleanup dates in April. After a brief closed session the court voted to make several employees full time with benefits and to increase wages for specified positions, including ecology staff and courthouse janitors; the court also approved raising a road-department CDL driver’s pay.

Speaker 1 noted a planned lithium project meeting to be held Wednesday at noon with company engineers and attorneys on hand to answer community questions; that item was announced but not acted on financially at this session.

The court adjourned after routine final motions. No ordinances requiring a later second reading or additional public hearings were finalized at this meeting other than those already placed on first reading or by separate statutory process.