The Fiscal Court passed a motion to allow medical cannabis businesses to operate in Boyle County at their May 28 meeting.

Judge Executive Trille Bottom explained that the state recently passed House Bill 47. The bill legalizes the use and sale of medical cannabis, and establishes a framework for licensing of cannabis businesses and producers in Kentucky. The bill goes into effect January 1, 2025. 

The state allows counties and cities to establish their own regulations. Local governments can either pass an ordinance prohibiting cannabis operations, pass a resolution to put the matter to a public vote, place restrictions or collect fees related to cannabis operations, or take no action, allowing businesses to operate as licensed by the state. The fiscal court passed a motion to take no action. 

The court passed another motion to draft an ordinance on how the county will regulate and collect fees related to medical cannabis. Magistrates discussed inviting the Health Department and local officials to talk about abuses that could happen. 

In other business: 

• The court approved the first reading of the 2024-2025 budget after a lengthy review and presentation by County Administrator Julie Wagner. To hear the full discussion on changes to the budget, people can go to the Boyle County Fiscal Court Youtube page to the May 28 meeting video. The full tentative budget document is also available at amnews.com in the online version of this story.
• The court approved moving to new accounting software called Fiscalsoft. The package is $65,000 yearly, and will include FiscalBooks, FiscalPay, and the payroll component. For the next fiscal year, the county budgeted for both Fiscalsoft and one year of the current Springbrook system, in order to still have old records and move things over. 
• The court approved purchasing the GovOS software for the Tax Administration office. The  software costs $109,818 yearly, with a one-time fee of $34,186. The software will allow businesses to pay local taxes online, and will move some operations at the tax office from paper filing to electronic filing.
• EMA Director Brian Caldwell explained that the county courthouse has acted as a storm shelter in recent storms, and will continue to do so in the future. There are also storm shelters at Perryville City Hall, Junction City Hall, and the Forkland Community Center that can be opened in cases of severe weather. Caldwell said he hopes they can be open as standard practice during inclement weather.
• Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jeff Jewell and Kelsey Crossfield presented a $1,000 check to the Fiscal Court for the Constitution Square Endowment Fund. They explained that the Farmer’s Market has been very successful this year, and the check is a way to thank the county for allowing the market to operate there.
• The court approved EMS surplusing a retired 2017 ambulance and selling it to Bath County for $20,000.