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Elizabethtown Finance Department says drop in general fund is not concerning

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The Elizabethtown City Council met for a work session Monday.

City Finance Director Jeff Hawkins presented a quarterly financial update to the council. Hawkins said the balance of the city’s general fund in December 2023 was $28.7 million, which is down $4.6 million from the year prior. The city’s sewer fund is up $1.4 million while the city’s natural gas fund is down $2.2 million. Hawkins said with recent projects such as the new Public Works building the drop in the general fund was not unexpected.

“We knew it was going to drop,” Hawkins said. “Obviously we’ve had salary increases and compensation. We’re hiring more people, doing what we can to better serve our citizens, but as we know, too, the Occupational Tax increase just kicked in January 1, so we’re anticipating to get half of the employer increase in this budget year.”

Hawkins said the city will review possible gas rate increases as the city has not adjusted that rate in about 12 years. Hawkins also noted that to this point in the fiscal year the city’s restaurant tax has collected about 44 percent of the $5.5 million that was projected.

City Stormwater Director Rita Davis gave an update on several projects. Davis said phase one of the Foxborough drainage project has been completed, and the city is waiting to collect data on spring rain events before proceeding to phase two. Phase one of the city’s Stormwater Master Plan is complete. Phase two of the master plan is ongoing, focusing on objectives such as reviewing ordinances, developing a design manual, better definitions, and establishing a rain gauge network. Davis said the department’s online portal for reporting stormwater issues has been well-used.

“We received 152 requests since this time last year, so this is heavily utilized,” Davis said. “We’ve resolved 132 requests since January of last year, and a lot of those are in conjunction with Public Works, with them doing the work on the ground.”

The Elizabethtown City Council will next meet February 20.

Crystal Rogers suspect Joseph Lawson’s bond reduced but medical release not granted

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Crystal Rogers investigation suspect Joseph Lawson has been granted a bond reduction, but not to the extent requested by his attorney.

Nelson Circuit Court Judge Charles Simms III entered an order Monday reducing Lawson’s bond from $500,000 to $250,000. Lawson’s attorney had requested a bond reduction to $50,000 and for Lawson to be released on home incarceration to attend an inpatient treatment facility.

Simms said the court considered the gravity of the charges Lawson faces, which carry a potential sentence of up to 25 years in prison. Simms’s order states that pretrial assessment described Lawson as a moderate flight risk and a moderate risk to reoffend. Simms also considered Lawson’s criminal history, which includes at least two felony convictions, and noted that Lawson is currently incarcerated at the Kentucky State Reformatory while serving a one-year sentence for a first degree Criminal Mischief charge.

Simms previously granted a $250,000 bond reduction for Lawson’s father Stephen Lawson, who faces the same charges as Joseph Lawson. Simms previously denied a bond reduction for Brooks Houck, who faces charges of Murder and Tampering with Physical Evidence in the case.

Houck, Joseph Lawson, and Stephen Lawson are all due back in Nelson Circuit Court for a status conference on March 21.

Registration still open for E-Town Parks and Rec’s 1,000 Mile Club

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The City of Elizabethtown Parks and Recreation Department invites you to get up, get out, and get active by participating in their annual 1,000 Mile Club.

“This will be our fifth year, and the goal of that club is to promote a healthier lifestyle for members in the community, to encourage them to run, walk, cycle, swim, or paddle 1,000 miles for the 2024 calendar year,” said E-Town Parks and Rec. Programs Coordinator Adam Case.

Registration for the program is $25, and the program has several incentives.

“We have benchmark prizes along the way throughout the year to keep you motivated, and we send out monthly updates from the club, and then everybody that registers for that will get a free t-shirt just for signing up, so it’s a win-win for us all,” Case said.

The 1,000 Mile Club is also a great opportunity to take advantage of the city’s park offerings.

“Between all of the Greenspace trails that we have and all the parks, there’s endless places to walk, run, and do all of the things,” Case said.

More information and a link to register can be found on the Parks and Recreation page of the city’s website.

Hardin County receives Recovery Ready Community certification

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The Lincoln Trail District Health Department says Hardin County has received certification from the state as a Recovery Ready Community.

“It gives us a framework to look at what is going on in the community around youth prevention initiatives, substance use prevention initiatives, harm reduction, treatment, recovery support for individuals that are in recovery,” said LTDHD Harm Reduction Manager Jennifer Osborne. “It gives us an idea of what is already in place in the community and what we might see as opportunities for improvement in a community.”

Hardin County received a score of 252 points in the state’s review of the county’s application, needing 225 points for the certification.

Osborne said one of the county’s strengths is it already has a strong agency for substance abuse policy board in place to discuss recovery and prevention issues, as well as the availability of several organizations to offer services. Another strength is the partnership of several organizations and entities coming together to address the issues.

“For instance, the partnership between the health department and the Communicare regional prevention center, our partnership with the Drug Court there in Hardin County, our EMS and coroner’s office, as well as Baptist Health Hardin,” Osborne said.

One area of improvement identified was the need for a quick response team which would reach out to victims and families after a non-fatal overdose, which Osborne said is already in development in Hardin County. 

Osborne said Hardin County is fortunate to have the coordination it does, something that helped the health department as they prepared their application for certification.

“Having somebody who can kind of case manage or help coordinate care for an individual, a lot of times that is a solution to some of that problem of having all of these fantastic resources but how do we get people to utilize them effectively, and that care management a lot of times helps with that problem,” Osborne said.

Learn more about the Recovery Ready Certification at rrcky.org.

Hardin County Clerk’s Office no longer closing Feb. 14

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The Hardin County Clerk’s Office has announced that after catching up on work last week the office no longer needs to close on February 14.

Hardin County Clerk Brian D. Smith said his staff put in the time and effort to make sure another closure wasn’t needed.

“I’m proud of the staff,” Smith said. “I know it was an inconvenience to the public to shut down the in-person service for one day this month, but it allowed us to get caught up on a lot of backlogs. We processed hundreds of registrations and other transactions.”

Customers should still anticipate delays due to the rollout of the new system.

“The clerk’s office remains busy,” Smith said. “The lines remain longer than we would like. There remain more problems with the KAVIS software than we would like, but every day we’re getting a little bit better and we wish, ask, and thank the public for their patience.”

Meanwhile, the clerk’s office is gearing up for the special election on March 19 to fill the Kentucky House District 26 seat vacated by Russell Weber. That election will be set next Tuesday.

“There is one candidate on the ballot, but February 20 at 4 p.m. is the deadline for write-in candidates, so potentially there could be a write-in candidate,” Smith said.

Smith said the county has responsibilities for every election regardless of size because the person on the ballot has not previously received votes for that position.

The special election will give area residents a chance to get acquainted with the clerk’s office’s Radcliff location at 101 West Lincoln Trail Boulevard, which will be the site of absentee, early, and election day voting.