By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette
Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012, 1 a.m. ? Bardstown property owners may not wind up with a higher tax bill next month if the Bardstown City Council follows the recommendation of its finance committee.
The committee met Monday afternoon to discuss the tax rates and make a recommendation for this evening?s city council meeting.
Despite Mayor Bill Sheckles? support for a higher tax rate that would increase revenue by the 4 percent allowed by state law, the finance committee members ? councilmen Tommy Reed, Bobby Simpson, and co-chairman Fred Hagan ? voiced their support for avoiding a tax increase. Councilmembers Roland Williams and Francis Lydian were present for the meeting, and councilman Joe Buckman participated by conference call.
Sheckles told the committee he favored raising the tax in part because it generates money for the city?s general fund. ?It?s always been my mindset that general fund revenues should take care of general fund items,? he said, which include fire, police, and street repairs. ?There?s nothing wrong with having a little money for a rainy day situation.?
Hagan said he was a proponent of establishing the need before raising taxes, noting the current budget was based on the compensating tax rate, which keeps tax revenue about the same as last year?s revenue.
?We just raised the occupational tax and have several hundred thousand dollars ocming in from that and I?m not sure what we?re going to do with all that money,? he said.
Sheckles said the city hasn?t collected a full year of the new occupational tax, so the full impact of last year?s changes haven?t been measured.
Last year?s tax rate was 18.8 cents per hundred dollars value; the compensating rate is 18.7 cents per hundred. Setting the tax rate at 19.4 cents would give the city a 4 percent increase in property tax revenue.
Bobby Simpson said he supported a recommendation for the compensating tax rate. ?Times are rough right now, maybe we need to tighten our belts some too.?
Francis Lydian isn?t on the committee, but agreed with the other councilmembers who support avoiding a tax hike. ?The economy has not recovered,? he said. ?Here in Bardstown we have property owners who are really struggling to make that mortgage payment.?
Roland Williams also voiced support for the compensation rate, and for establishing the need for a tax increase before enacting one.
The committee agreed to recommend the city council approve the compensating tax rate of 18.7 cents per hundred value. The council will take the matter up at its 7 p.m. meeting tonight following a 6:30 p.m. public hearing regarding the tax rate proposals.
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Source: http://www.nelsoncountygazette.com/?p=14216
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