Duties of the Meade County judge executive’s office BY KAREN KENNEDY
The county judge executive is the chief executive of the county – kind of like a corporate CEO, said Craycroft – and is charged with the execution of all ordinances and resolutions of the fiscal court, all contracts entered into by fiscal court, and all state laws subject to enforcement by him or officers under his supervision. The salary for a Kentucky county judge executive generally ranges between $50,000 and $90,000 per year. Craycroft will be earning just shy of $70,000. The judge executive presides over fiscal court meetings and holds the same power of any other member of the court, including the right to vote. When there is a tie vote in fiscal court in the selection of any officer or employee to be selected and a deadlock continues for 15 days, the judge executive makes the appointment. Fiscal court is required by law to hold a regular monthly meeting, which is set by the judge executive, who may also call special meetings of the court at any time. He has the authority to create, abolish, or combine any county department or agency and to transfer functions from one agency or department to another. Subject to fiscal court approval, he may also create, combine, or abolish any special district if the district was created solely by the county judge executive or fiscal court. The judge executive is responsible for keeping fiscal court informed of the operations of county departments, boards, and commissions, assuring representation on all boards, commissions, special districts, and multi-county programs which require county participation. Key to the role of the judge executive is financial responsibility, which includes the county budget, oversight of county funds, financial reports to fiscal court, and record keeping. He operates in cooperation with the property valuation administrator, jailer, and county treasurer. He administers the budget as approved by fiscal court and must keep the court advised of the financial needs and conditions of the county. When it comes to personnel, the county judge executive has the authority to appoint, supervise, suspend, and remove county personnel with fiscal court approval. The employment of county employees is at the will of the county judge executive and fiscal court. The term of employees ends with the term of the outgoing judge executive, and the new judge executive has the right to hire employees for his administration subject to fiscal court approval. The office of the county judge executive holds a variety of other powers and responsibilities. The judge executive is the county’s alcoholic beverage administrator unless he appoints someone else to that duty. He serves on the merit board for the administration of the county police force. He holds several responsibilities with respect to the county jail and prisoners. He assumes a number of duties relating to the water districts, including the appointment of the board of commissioners. He appoints three of the five district trustees and has procedural responsibilities relating to sewer districts, sanitation tax districts, and sewer construction districts. Every month the judge executive receives a report of the state and county taxes collected by the sheriff’s office, and he also has a number of duties related to property assessment and appeals. Other responsibilities include election duties, creation of commissioner districts, striking territory from the county, land condemnation for road purposes, issuing permits for places of entertainment outside the corporate limits of a city, and granting permits for fireworks displays. The judge executive’s job description also includes overseeing the operations of animal control, EMS, county emergency services, dispatch, E-911, solid waste, and planning and zoning. State statutes dictate the judge executive will serve on various boards and commissions. Judge Executive Craycroft shared he will be serving on various committees and boards including Lincoln Trail, the Meade County Health Department board, CORE, BRAC, and the Metropolitan Highway District. “I’ll be attending a lot of meetings,” noted Craycroft. Most importantly, the judge executive must be available for the day-to-day questions, problems and complaints of our citizens that arise on a regular basis. All of this would be difficult to accomplish without assistance from a capable staff. The judge executive’s office employs a staff of four to oversee its daily operations. Timmi Jupin is the first person one sees when visiting the judge executive’s office. Jupin serves as receptionist/secretary and also takes care of purchase orders. Mandy Sturgeon is payroll clerk and takes care of payroll for the road department, EMS, animal control, parks department, the jail, dispatch, planning and zoning, Fiscal Court, and the judge executive’s office. She oversees retirement and medical insurance as well as insurance on county property. Sturgeon also takes minutes at E-911 committee meetings. Mary Coghill is secretary/finance officer. She pays the county’s bills and claims, including utilities, fuel, and bills incurred by the jail, dispatch, and animal control. She also handles the road service district tax bills. Coghill provides administrative support for the judge executive and prepares the agenda and packets for Fiscal Court. Shirley Fackler is both county treasurer and Fiscal Court clerk. Fackler manages the county books, handles grants, and completes emergency management, FEMA, and NIMCAST paperwork. Given the wide range of responsibilities charged to the judge executive’s office, Judge Executive Harry Craycroft sees the necessity and wisdom of running the county like a business. He plans to shorten the length of Fiscal Court meetings by keeping the agenda moving in a businesslike manner. The really controversial issues, said Craycroft, will hopefully first be addressed in a public work session so that disagreements are worked out prior to the monthly Fiscal Court meeting, which is held the second Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. in the Meade County Courthouse. “It’s time to forget the “R’s” and “D’s” (Republican and Democrat) behind everyone’s name and get down to the business of running the county,” said Craycroft.
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What seems like a world of responsibility falls under the job title of the county judge executive, who takes care of the day-to-day business of the county. Our new Judge Executive, Harry Craycroft, does not take these responsibilities lightly.