Government briefs: Round-up of public meetings across the region this week

By Patricia A. Scheyer
NKyTribune reporter

BOONE COUNTY

Boone County Fiscal Court set their new tax rate Tuesday night but it was not a unanimous vote.

The property tax rate last year was 9.6 cents per $100 of assessed value. This year the compensating rate, or the rate needed to produce a similar amount of revenue as the former rate produced, is listed as 8.9 cents per $100. Last year’s rate produced $15,519,339 in revenue, and the compensating rate would produce $15,839,961 in revenue.

Judge Executive Gary Moore proposed a tax rate of 9.2 cents per $100, which would be a reduction of the tax rate; in fact, the 9.2 rate would be the third largest number of points rollback in 25 years. He further proposed that tax revenue received in excess of the preceding year tax revenue would be allocated for public service delivery related to roads and infrastructure related capital projects.That net amount is projected to be $607,558. Moore said this is in direct response to people saying they want safer roads and more places for trucks to park.

Commissioner Chet Hand said he was absolutely in favor of only going with the compensating rate, or the lowest rate possible. He indicated that he thought the rate could be lower than compensating, if the county had cut more spending.

“I think property taxes are immoral, at their core,” he stated. “I’ve heard from a lot of constituents from my area, and the resounding theme is that they want the lowest tax rate possible. One of the main complaints I get regarding taxation is that most people are very upset with their overall valuations, and that at the end of the day it tends to force seniors out of their homes, at some point, theoretically. I made it pretty clear that my base position is I think property taxes should be zero. Realistically, at the end of the day if the state didn’t have property taxes we would have no need for a PVA. Values would be driven by the market. Seniors and property owners who just want to keep their property and just live in it forever would be protected. The fact that we have property taxes in some way artificially inflates the home values in the area and is a disservice to our residents in that sense.”

Hand stated that any amount of money that they put aside will be spent on something, whether it be roads or anything else. He said they will always find a way to spend money.

He pointed out that the county has at least $9 million in reserves. That should be enough for any major project. He said that 2025 is already completely funded, based on the compensating rate, so it is time to think of the residents. The numbers show that only two funds were reduced in the 2025 budget, and he thought, since people are squeezing, the county government should squeeze a little too.

Ideally, Hand would like to eliminate property tax and substitute a usage, or sales tax. But, as several people pointed out, he understands that the county cannot do that— only the state can do it. Commissioner Cathy Flaig said they would have to lobby the state representatives to get that, and what does the county do in the meantime to fix the roads?

Judge Moore said he also prefers a sales tax over property tax, but the county doesn’t have that tool in their toolbox at this time.

Commissioner Jesse Brewer agreed with a lot that Hand said, but he stipulated that the county roads have to be safe, and he cited a recent bus accident in Hebron that so easily could have been disastrous. He said they still have seven bridges with wooden guard rails. He explained that people would be in favor of tax money going to safety projects where they can touch and see where the money is going.

The vote was held and Hand was the sole no vote.

“I will be the first to admit that we have needs when it comes to roads and infrastructure and it is part of the reason I ran for office, but my opposition to this one is not about opposition to infrastructure funding,” Hand stated. “It is opposition to how we got here, and I think there are other ways to fund this.”

FLORENCE

Florence City Council held a public hearing on the tax rates for the city Wednesday afternoon. The tax rates for Florence are a little different, because they have always had regular property values plus a hazardous duty fee.

At the last caucus meeting, Council member Mel Carroll suggested that although the rates have held steady for the last 10 years, he felt that the city could reduce the hazardous duty rate of .65 per $100 of valuation to .55 per $100. Councilmember Patricia Wingo also thought they could reduce the tax rate, but agreed that probably the best way would be to lower the hazardous duty fee, since that would apply to the tangible tax rate also. Carroll said it is long overdue, and councilmembers agreed.

Going into next week’s legislation to set the rates, Council has agreed to a rate of .183 plus .55 per $100 valuation for a total of .238 per $100 for real property and .186 plus .55 per $100 valuation for a total of .241 per $100.

ERLANGER

The city of Erlanger passed a tax rate Tuesday which again lowered the tax rate, making it the tenth straight year that the city has lowered the real property tax rate. The new rate is .247 per $100 of assessed value. Over the last ten years the rate has been reduced 31 percent.

Director of Economic Development Mark Collier said that 12 percent of the property taxes will be earmarked to go into the Park Improvement Fund, which was another part of the ordinance that Council voted on unanimously.

“We believe Erlanger is one of the most affordable and attractive places to live in the region because home ownership continues to become more feasible with falling real property tax rates,” said Erlanger Mayor Jessica Fette. “We have a lot of exciting things to offer in Erlanger, and a lower tax obligation incentivizes people to live here, and contribute positively to our thriving neighborhoods. I’m also very pleased that we will continue to make substantial improvements to the beautiful parks we enjoy.”

The tangible property rate will be .198 per $100 of valuation, which is unchanged. The personal property rate has been cut 67 percent over the last 10 years.

COVINGTON

Covington city commissioners tentatively set their tax rate Thursday evening for the first reading of the tax rate ordinance. Mayor Joe Meyer specified that he wants the property tax rate to be .277 per $100 of valuation, and the tangible, or personal, tax rate to be .336 per $100 of valuation. hat allows the property tax rate to stay the same from last year, but the personal tax rate to be cut 7 percent from last year’s rate. Meyer said it is a symbolic gesture that shows who they are as a city and how they manage the city.

“My personal feeling is that it is in the best interest of the city, after balancing the equities, to maintain the property rate where it is at .277,” said Meyer. “Yes, it means we will forego about $280,000, but it also means that we will be collecting about $270,000 more than last year even though the rate stays the same.”

He said that they will leave the personal rate at .336, the allowable rate, for now, knowing that they may have to recalculate it at the next meeting, due to rules about how much they can cut one rate as opposed to the other rate. The next meeting is Tuesday, September 10.

FT. WRIGHT

Ft. Wright city council held a public hearing for their new tax rates Wednesday before their regular meeting and they acted on the recommendation of the finance committee. The new rates will be .215 per $100 of assessed value for property tax, down from last year’s rate of .248 per $100 valuation, a 13 percent reduction. The tangible or personal property tax rate will be .385 per $100 valuation, down from last year’s rate of .446 per $100, a 14 percent reduction according to Mayor Dave Hatter.

“We want to offset some of the massively increasing costs by giving residents a large cut in those two rates,” Hatter said.

Council also passed the second reading of an ordinance repealing the city’s old zoning laws, and adopting the Z21 zoning codes. Council member Jason Collins voted no on the ordinance, not because of the zoning codes, but because the city included the zones where the medical cannabis businesses can be located. Collins had objected to a previous stipulation suggested by council member Bernie Wessels that medical marijuana stores only be located in freestanding buildings because of the distinct odor. After discussing the matter more, it was decided to pass the zoning codes ordinance, and if needed, the city can change the restriction on the medical cannabis locations.

Mayor Hatter submitted his recommendations for Ethics Board members, and council members voted to approve them. He nominated Adam Feinauer, a former council member, for a three-year term, Tim Theissen, who was a previous city attorney for a two-year term, and Joe Nienaber, a former mayor and now a Kenton County Commissioner for a year term. Katie Baker was chosen as an alternate for a one-year term.

CAMPBELL COUNTY

Campbell County Fiscal Court met Wednesday to approve a request to apply for a stewardship project grant from Cooperative Extension Services. The grant will allow the county to buy collection containers to put in the schools for vape devices when they are confiscated. Vape paraphernalia is not permitted in schools.

Judge Executive Steve Pendery announced that the annual Senior Picnic will be held September 25, from 11 am to 3 pm at Pendery Park in Melbourne, Kentucky. Cost is $10.

Two new officers were sworn in by Judge Pendery. Storm Painter, and Erik Schnitzler took the oath of office and will hopefully attend the Police Academy in Richmond soon.

A special certificate of appreciation was given to Bruce Siry, who is retiring from Volunteers in Police Service.

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