Trigg County Fiscal Court and its magistrates took in discussions from Jailer James Hughes Monday night, before fully approving his tentative ledger for the 2025-26 fiscal year.
In it, Hughes said he was only looking for a 2.2% increase over last year’s expenses — most of that coming in raises and extended travel costs — bringing his budget to $714,190.
He added a $3,000 increase for the Christian County Jail, an extra $500 in official training costs, with the other increases coming in Social Security and retirement benefits.
Out of 20 line items, six changed over last year’s allotment.
Hughes confirmed that Christian County Jail did not increase its daily rate of $30 per day, and that the relationship between Hopkinsville and Cadiz for boarding inmates remains as strong as ever.
Furthermore, he and Judge-Executive Stan Humphries noted that while this past month’s cost of $16,000-plus for lodging inmates is relatively low compared to other months, this retainer is directly proportional to the work done by the Cadiz Police Department and Trigg County Sheriff’s Office.
The more crime and subsequent arrests that occur, the more this value increases.
In that vein, Humphries said that many surrounding communities — including Marshall, Calloway and Christian counties — have sent supporting units over the last few days, as three Trigg County deputies remain offline following last week’s chase that ended with the death of 21-year-old Florissant, Missouri, man Jermaine Jackson, Jr.
In other court news Monday:
— Trigg County citizen Mason Altenbaugh brought forth a strong, cogent discussion about Bethesda School Road, and its need for attention. He said, to his recollection, it had been about five or six years since any major efforts had come to the pathway located off of Highway 276. About 10, or so, families live back there, and some of the potholes, he said, are now 12 inches in diameter. He added that some new ditching would go a long way to keeping the roadway out of disrepair.
He and others in the area, he added, have done some basic work to make it tenable, but significant weather over the last six months has made progress nearly impossible.
Humphries thanked Altenbaugh for his attention, and urged that all 450 miles of Trigg County’s roads need new ditching — creating 900 miles of work that must be addressed.
Meanwhile, Magistrate Mike Wright was impressed with Altenbaugh’s presentation.
And speaking of roadways, Wright said the Army Corps of Engineers is “well aware” of the debris bulge that keeps forming on the state’s bridge across Little River near West Cadiz Park, and it will soon be addressed.
— Humphries noted that magistrates need to be prepared to tackle a number of subjects over the next few meetings, including: the pooling and floodwaters on Glenwood Mill Road after major storms, the likely construction of a new ambulance shack for the Trigg County Hospital, and the hopes of starting construction on a new Trigg County Rescue facility in front of the community’s road garage before the end of 2025.
Humphries also said he couldn’t go into details on proceedings, but that calls and visits “have ramped up” in regard to the I-24 Business Park Spec Building, which still needs a tenant after an unnamed company changed course in late 2024.
— In her six-month update with magistrates, Cadiz-Trigg County Tourism Director Beth Sumner confirmed that the Cadiz downtown kiosk will come online within the next week, and that three other kiosks will move around to different events and businesses in the future.
