Coal Fund Pays for Courthouse Motor Starters; Truck to Go Out for Bid

Montgomery County Board | September 8, 2026

Article Summary: The Montgomery County Board on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, approved two Fund 375 vouchers totaling $6,019 to HRC for work at 127 N. Main Street, authorized $18,167.58 to Hillsboro Electric for variable speed motor starters at the new courthouse, and cleared the Maintenance Department to advertise for bids on a new truck costing up to $50,000 — all from the county’s coal royalty fund.

Fund 375 Purchases Key Points:

• Vouchers of $3,100 and $2,919 to HRC for floor repair and back step replacement at 127 N. Main Street.
• $18,167.58 to Hillsboro Electric for three variable-speed motor starters serving two chiller pumps and an air handler, with an estimated $2,800 Ameren incentive.
• Authorization to advertise for bids on a new maintenance truck, a request of up to $50,000.
• The county reported a July coal royalty payment of $214,778 and a total Fund 375 balance of $10.9 million.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY — Four pieces of county maintenance spending moved through the Montgomery County Board on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, all of them drawing on Coal Fund 375, the account fed by the county’s 2% royalty on coal mine royalties.

Finance & Budget Committee Chairwoman Connie Beck moved, with a second by Keith Hancock, “to approve Fund 375 vouchers of $3,100 and $2,919 to HRC, and requests to spend $18,167.58 for variable speed motor starters and to advertise for bids for a new maintenance truck from Fund 375.” The motion carried with all in favor. The Finance & Budget Committee had recommended the same package in two separate motions at its Sept. 3 meeting.

Two Invoices at 127 N. Main

The HRC vouchers cover work at the county’s Specialty Courts and Probation building at 127 N. Main Street, carried in county records under a $100,000 repairs and improvements budget.

The first, invoice INV118 dated Aug. 11, 2026, bills $3,100 to “Fix floor where hall was – caulk cracks in where flooring was installed – – install new vinyl plank flooring in office – – put thresholds in office entries.” The county voucher describes it simply as “Floor repair.”

The second, INV122 dated Sept. 1, bills $2,919 for back steps and the front ramp: “Replaced back steps -/ Removed 6 deck boards from front ramp, added structural framing and installed original deck boards back -/ filled holes and cracks with wood putty -/ * cut and installed trim inside (west wall).”

With the $3,100 entered Sept. 3, the project’s cost tracker shows $63,376.98 spent to date against the $100,000 budget, leaving $36,200.79 — recorded on the sheet as $36,623.02 remaining.

Buildings & Grounds Committee Chairman Mark Hughes separately told the board that HRC “has completed repairing the porches and ramps” at 127 N. Main, and that the committee “has postponed considering a new concrete ramp.”

Chiller Pumps and an Air Handler

The Hillsboro Electric Company estimate, numbered 4098 and dated Aug. 24, 2026, is addressed to the courthouse at #1 Courthouse Square, Room 202, and describes work at a different building: “THIS ESTIMATE IS TO REPLACE THREE MOTOR STARTERS AT THE NEW COURTHOUSE WITH NEW VFDS STYLE MOTOR STARTERS, TWO OF THE STARTERS ARE FOR THE CHILLER PUMPS AND ONE IS ON AIR HANDLER #2.”

The estimate states the new drives “WILL SAVE ON ELECTRICITY AND HELPS MAKE THE MOTOR LAST LONGER,” that they “QUALIFY FOR AN ESTIMATED AMEREN INCENTIVE OF $2,800.00,” that some conduits will have to be moved to make room, and that a technician from Square D will program them after installation. It also commits that “IF WE DON’T USE ALL OF THE MATERIAL OR LABOR FIGURED, WE WILL DEDUCT ANYTHING NOT USED FROM THE FINAL BILL.”

Maintenance Director Phil Ernst’s monthly report records the same figures, stating the work “will cost us $18,167.58,” citing the $2,800 Ameren incentive and giving a total cost of $20,967.58.

A New Truck, and the Fund Behind It

The truck request arrived through the Buildings & Grounds Committee. At its Sept. 1 meeting, the minutes record that “Ernst was instructed during Budget Hearings to begin the process of replacing his work truck this fiscal year, and the committee concurred.” The Finance & Budget handout lists the request as “Maintenance Vehicle up to $50,000.”

Beck reported a July coal royalty payment of $214,778 and a total Coal Fund 375 balance of $10.9 million. The county’s disposition-of-funds sheet puts the balance at $10,951,192.65 as of the end of July, split among a Reserve account at $4,785,876.88, an Operating and Maintenance account at $4,401,492.72 and a Capital Improvement account at $1,763,823.05.

Board policy printed on that sheet requires the Reserve account to hold at least $3,500,000 before the other two receive anything, with payments above $100,000 sending a $100,000 minimum to Operating and Maintenance and dividing the remainder equally between Reserve and Capital Improvement.