Montgomery County Approves Coal Fund Purchases as Balance Tops $11 Million

Montgomery County Board Meeting | June 9, 2026

Article Summary: The Montgomery County Board on June 9 approved eleven purchases from Coal Fund 375, ranging from $69.98 for a lift to $15,405 for heating and cooling work, most of them tied to the county’s new specialty courts building at 127 N. Main. The fund’s balance stands at just over $11 million.

Coal Fund 375 Key Points:

• The board approved eleven Fund 375 expenses on a motion by Connie Beck and a second by Keith Hancock; all were in favor.
• The largest was $15,405 to C&C Heating & Cooling; the smallest was $69.98 to Uline.
• Coal Fund 375’s total balance is just over $11 million, and the county received a $200,085 coal royalty payment in April.
• A packet cost tracker shows $22,715.19 spent to date against a $100,000 budget for repairs and improvements at the specialty courts building.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY — The Montgomery County Board on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, approved eleven purchases from Coal Fund 375, most of them tied to the county’s new specialty courts building at 127 N. Main in Hillsboro, on a motion by Finance & Budget Committee Chairwoman Connie Beck and a second by Keith Hancock. All were in favor.

The approved expenses were $3,591.67 to Central Roofing; $195 to Bridges Lock & Key; $2,527.50 to Directional Boring; $158.41 to Ace Hardware; $15,405 to C&C Heating & Cooling; $350 to Tanners Tints; $69.98 to Uline; $392.99 to Wayfair; $5,884.28 to the Montgomery County Treasurer; $7,396.38 to Roger Jennings; and $3,549 to Tom Day.

A handout distributed with the request divides the eleven among three departments. Nine were listed under Buildings & Grounds, the Roger Jennings payment under MCSO and the Tom Day payment under EMA/EPA/911.

What the Vouchers Show

County vouchers included in the packet supply detail the minutes do not.

The C&C Heating & Cooling payment covers an air conditioning unit at $10,860, boiler system work with a new autofill and tank at $1,085, and replacement of an old furnace in a basement main room at $3,460. The Central Roofing invoice, dated May 12, is for a replacement roof on the county’s transmitter building and replacement guttering on the east tower of the Historic Courthouse; a department head form describes the work as storm damage.

The Directional Boring payment covers boring and pulling 2-inch conduit for internet from the new court house at $2,277.50, plus $250 for a mini excavator. Tanners Tints tinted the front windows of the new probation building with 25% Super Alloy film. The Wayfair payment bought a Turner 68.9-inch square arm sofa in navy blue faux leather with brushed bronze legs; a department head form shows the vendor line struck through and rewritten as Constitution Bank, reflecting a county credit card purchase.

The Roger Jennings payment went to Roger Jennings, Inc., of Hillsboro for a transmission replacement on a 2019 Chevrolet K1500 crew cab belonging to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department with 93,860 miles on it — $2,261 in labor, $5,120.38 in parts and $15 in shop supplies. A Tom Day Business Machines quote for the EMA office prices an off-lease Ricoh IM C3000 color copier, printer and scanner at $3,450 plus a $199 surge protector, with an annual $450 maintenance agreement covering 40,000 black images.

The $5,884.28 to the Montgomery County Treasurer matches the combined 2025 property tax bills on two parcels at 127 N. Main included in the packet — $5,780.62 and $103.66.

$11 Million on Hand, $100,000 Budget for the Courts Building

Beck reported a $200,085 coal royalty payment in April and a total Coal Fund 375 balance of just over $11 million.

Financial reports in the packet break that down. A treasurer’s summary of 2% royalty payments for FY26 lists $5,184,491 in the Reserve account, $4,319,089 in Operating & Maintenance and $1,535,441 in Capital Improvement, for $11,039,021 in total funds available. Of that, $6,163,309 is cash in bank and the remainder sits in certificates of deposit and other investments carrying rates from 3.66% to 4.60%.

A disposition-of-funds sheet in the same packet states the board’s standing policy: the county intends to retain a $3,500,000 balance on hand in the Reserve account and at no time is that balance to be less. The Operating and Maintenance and Capital Improvement accounts receive funding only when Reserve holds at least $3,500,000. After that threshold is met, a minimum of $100,000 of each payment goes to Operating and Maintenance, with the remainder divided equally between Reserve and Capital Improvement; payments under $100,000 go entirely to Operating and Maintenance.

The April royalty followed that formula. Of the $200,085.73 received, $100,000 went to Operating and Maintenance and $50,042.87 apiece to Reserve and Capital Improvement.

A separate spreadsheet headed “Montgomery County Courthouse Complex Specialty Courts Building Repairs & Improvements” tracks a $100,000 budget for the 127 N. Main project. It shows $22,715.19 spent to date and $77,284.81 remaining, with line items including Lipe Architecture at $450, Dan Heise Plumbing at $2,060, Mac’s Fire & Safety at $93.75 and Johnstone Supply at $91.92, alongside several of the vendors approved June 9.