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QUICKSIE98.3
The Hardin County Fiscal Court met for their first meeting of the month Tuesday.
The court approved the first reading of the 2026-2027 county budget. The approved budget was amended from the budget proposed by Hardin County Judge/Executive Keith Taul following Finance Committee meetings last week, with total revenues and expenditures of $60,827,299. Taul said the amended budget cut $870,000 from his proposed budget.
Fourth District Magistrate Fred Clem said the two major issues several of the magistrates had with Taul’s budget were salaries and the proposed emergency services building to be constructed in Glendale. Clem said the magistrates want to take care of county employees but financial constraints have to be considered.
“Measured growth and salaries is part of our budget process, and every employee, and I want to be clear, even though they weren’t as substantial as the judge presented in his budget, every employee did get a one percent COLA and every employee did get a one-step raise, so no one was left out of the process of raises and COLAs,” Clem said.
Fifth District Magistrate Aaron Pennington said he was not against the emergency services building, but he wanted to see more details, and more financial planning, for such a large-scale project.
“This is not a no,” Pennington said. “This is ‘how much does it cost, and where are we going to get the money to pay for it?’ Again, I would probably be all for it, and not once at any Emergency Services Committee have I said, ‘Nope, we’re not for it.’ I’ve always said, “Yeah, but let’s figure it out. How are we going to pay for it?’”
Taul, who along with Seventh District Magistrate Larry Hicks voted against the amended budget, said the focus of his budget was public safety and “fair wage adjustments” to retain employees. He said the cuts made to the budget will prove to be detrimental to the county.
“I guarantee it’s going to be a reduction in quality of services,” Taul said. “It will be a reduction. We have high turnover, and the continuous cost of training of new employees, lack of support to fire services, and the improvement objectives, future objectives that we have out there for those fire services, are all being compromised.”
The budget will go up for adoption on its second reading at the June 9 fiscal court meeting.
In other meeting news, a public hearing was held on County Road Aid and Local Government Economic Assistance funds. County Attorney Jenny Oldham said the county is expected to receive $1,872,330.42 in CRA funds and $284,400 in LGEA funds.
County Planning Director Adam King said year-to-date the county has platted 64 new lots this year and approved 170 building permits. County Public Works Director Stephanie Givens said 25 trailer runs were made for the county’s recycling program in March, and more than 150 shredding bags were collected in March and April.
The Hardin County Fiscal Court will next meet May 26.
Three suspects in cases of recent interest made appearances in Hardin Circuit Court Tuesday.
Dustin Caudill, the Elizabethtown man accused of shooting and killing two men and then setting the Henon Lane residence they were in on fire in October 2024, appeared in person as his defense attorneys discussed their motion to strike aggravating circumstances, in this case Caudill’s conviction for killing his mother and brother in 1994. Attorney Ty Howorth said penalties for a modern adult offense cannot be influenced by penalties previously issued for a youthful offender. Commonwealth’s Attorney Shane Young said the point the commonwealth is trying to make is simply: “Murder is murder. It is a capital offense.” Hardin Circuit Judge Larry Ashlock said he would take the arguments under advisement. Ashlock also said he is not willing to continue the case into the fall or winter as requested by the defense, but he would be willing to move the June 8 trial date back a few weeks. Howorth said she would check the availability of the defense’s expert witnesses.
Meanwhile, Chastity Nettles appeared via Zoom from the Boyd County Regional Juvenile Detention Center for an arraignment hearing. Nettles is charged with Murder after in January she allegedly “was in a vehicle in the Lowe’s parking lot” and obtained a firearm belonging to Bryan Harbison “and shot another female juvenile in the chest, killing her.” Lindsey Yates with the Department of Public Advocacy entered a not guilty plea on Nettle’s behalf. A pre-trial conference was scheduled for July 14.
Finally, Christopher Barnes of Glendale appeared via Zoom from the Hardin County Detention Center for an arraignment hearing. Ashlock said a grand jury returned indictments for Barnes on three counts of Class C Felony Unlawful Use of Electronic Means to Induce a Minor to Engage in Sexual or Other Prohibited Activities and three misdemeanor charges. Those charges are related to Barnes’s arrest following an investigation by the Santa Claus Police Department in Indiana “after discovering the suspect procuring a minor online.” Barnes requested a public defender and a not guilty plea was entered on his behalf. A pre-trial conference was scheduled for June 16.
A collision between a vehicle and a horse and carriage resulted in the death of a Hart County woman Monday.
Kentucky State Police Post Three says at approximately 8:24 a.m. on May 11 troopers were notified of an injury collision and responded to the 1600 block of South Dixie Highway in Munfordville. The KSP says the preliminary investigation indicates a horse and carriage operated by Melvin Miller of Horse Cave was traveling north on South Dixie Highway. A pickup truck operated by John McBride of Munfordville was also travelling north when the vehicle collided with the back end of the carriage.
81-year-old Sara Miller of Horse Cave was a passenger in the carriage. She was transported from the scene by Hart County EMS to the Medical Center at Caverna, where she was pronounced dead. Melvin Miller was transported to the University of Louisville Hospital for treatment of injuries.
The KSP’s investigation is ongoing.