Scott County proposes budget for new fiscal year
Scott County's fiscal year 2026-2027 budget includes no new taxes. Plus, drought conditions scale back slightly in Scott County.
Good Thursday evening! This is The Weekender, a final look at this week’s news from the Independent Herald. The Daybreaker (Monday) and The Weekender (Thursday evening) are our two news-first newsletters. We publish several other newsletters throughout the week, as well as our regular E-Edition on Thursday and our Varsity E-Edition on Sunday (during sports season). If you’d like to adjust your subscription to include (or exclude) any of these newsletters, do so here. If you haven’t subscribed, please consider doing so!
Today’s newsletter is sponsored by Buckeye Home Medical Equipment. Serving Scott County and several other communities in the Upper Cumberland region, Buckeye is a full-line DME providing home health equipment to its patients.
County proposes fiscal year 2026-2027 budget
HUNTSVILLE | Scott County Commission will meet in special session on Monday, June 22, 2026, for the purpose of approving the budget for fiscal year 2026-2027, which begins July 1.
The proposed budget, which includes no new taxes and leaves the property tax rate unchanged, is a balanced ledger sheet that includes $11.55 million in anticipated revenue and $11.48 million in anticipated expenditures. Both of those numbers are slightly less than fiscal year 2025-2026, which ends later this month.
As proposed, the budget anticipates that the county’s fund balance will be $4.10 million at the end of the fiscal year on June 30, 2027, up slightly from $4.03 million to start the year.
The budget can be viewed in its entirety on the county’s website, at www.scottcounty.com.
The June 22 meeting will begin at 5 p.m. in the conference room of the Scott County Office Building.
Huntsville Post-Acute & Rehabilitation Center offers short-term or long-term care … on your terms. Learn more. (Sponsored content.)
Drought severity scaled back slightly
The U.S. Drought Monitor — a collaborative effort of various state and federal agencies — scaled back the drought severity across Scott County in its latest update Thursday, but the county remains in a moderate to severe drought, with extreme drought extending up the Cumberland Plateau into Morgan County.
Recent rainfall has helped to at least stall a drought that had been worsening for several months. Thanks to heavy rain Friday night, Scott County ended the month of May with slightly above-average rainfall. The Scott County Airport finished the month with 4.97 inches of rain, just slightly above the historical May average of 4.89 inches. That was after receiving just over an inch of rain Friday night into Saturday morning. Some parts of southern Scott County received significantly more rain Friday night.
May snapped a streak of six consecutive months of below-average rainfall in Scott County. However, year-to-date rainfall is still running much below average. Scott County has received 18.9 inches of rain since January 1. In a typical year it has received 25.6 inches of rain by now. Entering the month of May, 2026 was in the running with 2007 for the driest start to a year on record locally.
Streams, which had been at record lows for much of May, are still flowing slightly above average in the aftermath of the heavy weekend rains. The Big South Fork River was measured at 666 cubic feet per second (cfs) Thursday morning. The average flow this time of year is around 400 cfs. Thursday’s reading was slightly above the 75th percentile, meaning the river is running this high in early June less than 25% of the time. Upstream at Burnt Mill Ford, the Clear Fork was running at 208 cfs Thursday morning, close to double its typical flow in early June but below the 75th percentile.
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ICYMI
Threads of Life: This week’s Threads of Life newsletter is in remembrance of Melissa Pemberton, Ashley Acres, Klestle Ellis, Phyllis Pike, Alice Ramsey, and Jim Strunk. » Read It
Echoes in Time: History is full of examples of men who tried their best to avoid jail, but in early 1900s Scott County, a man tried his best to stay in jail! » Read It
Spring Hiking Challenge: Week 12 of the Spring Hiking Challenge takes us to the historic John Litton Farm in the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area. » Read It
The Weekend
🌤️ Weather: A nice weekend is in store, though it’ll be getting warmer. Friday will be mostly sunny and 83°, and Saturday will be mostly sunny and 85°. There’s a slight chance of afternoon thunderstorms Sunday with temperatures in the mid 80s. Check out our daily Eye to the Sky updates on our Facebook page— published each morning at 7 a.m. on the dot.
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⛪︎ Featured Church
Clay Hill Missionary Baptist Church
Denomination: Baptist (Missionary)
Pastor: Mark Smith
Address: 446 Alderville Road, Winfield
Services
Sunday School: 10 a.m.
Sunday Evening: 6 p.m.
Wednesday: 7 p.m.
» See the complete Church Directory, and thank you to our sponsors of the Church Directory.
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📅 Community Calendar
• Saturday: The Scott County Farmers & Crafters Market will be at the Scott County Visitor Center in Helenwood (12025 Scott Highway) from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. with fresh produce, baked goods, and handmade crafts.
• Saturday: The Big South Fork swimming pool at Bandy Creek will be open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is $3 ($2 for ages 6-12; free for 5 and under). The Huntsville Municipal Pool will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $3.
• Saturday: First Saturday night services will be held at Capitol Hill Missionary Baptist Church (6:30 p.m.), East Robbins Missionary Baptist Church (6 p.m.), Norma Missionary Baptist Church (6 p.m.), and Black Creek Crossroads Missionary Baptist Church (7 p.m.). For more information, see our Church Directory at indherald.com.
• Sunday: The Big South Fork swimming pool at Bandy Creek will be open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is $3 ($2 for ages 6-12; free for 5 and under). The Huntsville Municipal Pool will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $3.
• Sunday: Celebrate Recovery, a 12-step program designed to help with addiction, co-dependency and domestic abuse, will be hosted by Fire & Purpose Ministries from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at 27192 Scott Highway in Winfield. There will be food, fellowship, praise and worship. Childcare is provided.
The Community Calendar is presented weekly by Citizens Gas Utility District. You can help prevent pipeline damage and leaks by calling 811 before doing any excavating or demolition and submitting a utility locate request. Visit citizensgastn.com.
Scenic Sale!
This week’s sale items at Scenic Foods in Huntsville! The sale continues through Tuesday. Sponsored content.
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Our Newsletters:
• Monday morning: The Daybreaker (news & the week ahead)
• Tuesday: Echoes from the Past (stories of our history)
• Wednesday: Threads of Life (obituaries)
• Thursday evening: The Weekender (news & the weekend)
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• Sunday: Varsity (a weekly sports recap)
They’re saving tax increases for the new highland trail to go in.