Debating legality of proposed budget, Corbin City Commission goes back to drawing board

The Corbin City Commission held a public hearing Wednesday morning to, among other matters, conduct a first reading of the proposed annual budget for the 2022-23 fiscal year. After the initial reading was complete and the floor was open for comments, City Commissioner Trent Knuckles voiced several concerns, summed up by the fact that, according to his calculations, appropriations in the proposed budget looked to exceed anticipated revenue by somewhere in the neighborhood of $3 million.

Fellow Commissioner Brandon Shepherd echoed Knuckles’ concerns, asserting that, per Kentucky law, a city cannot legally pass a budget where projected spending is not covered by its projected revenue.

After discussion amongst Knuckles, Shepherd, budget sub-committee members Seth Reeves and Allison Moore, City Manager Marlon Sams and City Attorney Bob Hammons, it was ultimately determined that there was, in fact, considerable discrepancies between the amount of projected revenue for the coming fiscal year and the amount of funds that had been designated in the proposed budget.

Sams would later claim that a typo in the budget was mainly to blame for the proposed budget not balancing.

Before the conclusion of Wednesday’s meeting, Mayor Suzie Razmus made a motion to table any further budget discussions until all discrepancies could be resolved, suggesting that Knuckles and Shepherd work with Sams, Reeves, Moore and Hammons in order to make sure that a balanced budget could be presented at a future meeting.

Reeves said after the meeting that he is hopeful that a revised budget will be presented, read and passed within the next two weeks.

Additional details concerning Wednesday’s proceedings will be forthcoming. Continue to check this story for updates.