Henderson Fiscal Court, May 26
Fiscal court preliminary passes budget
The Henderson Fiscal Court preliminarily passed a $39 million budget for the upcoming 2026-2027 fiscal year.
The fiscal court heard a first reading and all members voted in favor of the $39.955 million budget.
Appropriations include:
General fund: $12,917,231
Road fund: $5,754,062
Jail fund: $10,016,388
Local Government Economic Assistance fund: $3,646,498
State Grants fund: $1,663,319
Federal Grants fund: $2,500,000
Economic Development fund: $100,000
Opioid Settlement fund: $162,834
Clerk SB 135/Permanent storage: $45,000
County government employee health insurance: $3,150,000
ARPA: $0 (Current money in the county’s ARPA account need to be spent by Dec. 31, 2026.)
See the 2026-2027 county government budget here.
Jail hires construction manager for new addition
Of two bids that came in to be the construction manager for a new addition at Henderson County Detention Center, Jailer Bruce Todd said Codell Construction has been chosen.
The 8,000-square-foot addition will house about 100 federal and state inmates and cost about $7.5 million, according to a previous article in the Hendersonian. HCDC is one of three jails in the state that is self-sustaining, and the addition is planned as a way to continue to stay in the black because the jail is paid to house both federal and state inmates.
Todd said the deciding factors were that Codell bid a set monthly fee, while competitor Garmong did not. Todd said the jail will pay Codell $18,000 per month. He said that will allow better control of monthly costs.
Todd also said another factor that Codell has completed several projects while working with the state Department of Corrections, which is what will have to happen with this local project.
County Safe Streets For All project
The fiscal court approved consultants to plan for two large county roads projects that will be funded by the federal government’s Safe Streets For All grant program.
County Engineer Nick Stallings said as part of the federal program, it is required to hire consultants for the planning of the projects.
The projects will be an overhaul of signs on county roads, which will include adding signs that have gone missing, adding signs that aren’t present but should be and fixing broken signs. Stallings estimates the county should have in place six to 10 signs per mile on its roads.
Bacon, Farmer and Workman was the choice for the consultant to plan for the sign work, Stallings said.
A second part of the SS4A county grant involves widening county roads, work that will also include moving culverts, extending ditches and shoulder work, Stallings said.
Palmer Engineering was the choice for the consultant to plan for the road widening project, Stallings said.
The complete project will cost $4.2 million. Of that, the federal funding is $3.3 million, the state will provide $800,000 and the county is putting in $24,000, according to a previous Hendersonian article.
Henderson City Commission, May 26
ICIP group organizes one-day festival on July 18
A group of the Inner City Improvement Plan presented plans for a day festival that will occur from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on July 18 at the John F. Kennedy Center.
The festival will feature guest speaker Courtney Johnson, who runs the Evansville nonprofit Young & Established.
Also at the event will be the 4 Good Community Truck, the Henderson County Public Library mobile truck, blood pressure and heart rate checks provided by the Henderson Community College nursing program, food and drinks. Expected attendance is between 300 and 500 people, organizers said.
The city commission approved a $10,000 funding request to pay for food, supplies and the guest speaker. The money comes from a line item in the budget each year for projects that come directly from the ICIP.
Organizers of the Henderson Hospitality Summit recognized with Community Spotlight
The Henderson City Commission recognized the organizations that organized the recent Henderson Hospitality Summit for May’s Community Spotlight. Staff of the Henderson County Public Library, Henderson Tourist Commission, Henderson Chamber of Commerce and Henderson Economic Development were commended for their collaboration in bringing the event to the Preston Arts Center with about 650 people in attendance.
Emily Hurt, the special events coordinator for HCPL, called it an amazing collaboration and commended her fellow organizers.
“They work hard to serve Henderson every day,” she said.
