Hopkinsville City Council voted Tuesday night to increase the city’s real property tax rate by eight-tenths of 1 cent per $100 of assessed value, pushing the rate to 23.9 percent.
That means a homeowner with a $100,000 house would pay about 75 cents more per month, Mayor Carter Hendricks said.
The rate adopted by the council on first reading will generate an additional 4 percent in revenue this fiscal year, which is the most a local government may take without subjecting the rate to a possible voter recall under Kentucky law.
The council vote was 9-2; councilmen Tom Johnson and Jason Bell voted against the increase. Council members voting in favor of the increase were Darvin Adams, Don Ahart, Paul Henson, Amy Craig, Wendell Lynch, Patricia Bell, Jimmy Dossett, Kimberly McCarley and Phillip Brooks. (Council member Terry Parker was absent to attend his daughter’s soccer game.)
A second vote will be required at the council’s next meeting on Sept. 17.
Johnson asked Chief Financial Officer Robert Martin to explain the impact on funding if the council left the property tax at its current rate, 23.1 percent.
The higher rate will generate approximately $4.71 million, which is $110,000 more than last year, Martin said.
If city council had voted for the compensating rate – meaning the rate that would generate the same revenue as last year – it would decrease slightly to 23 cents per $100 of assessed value.
Based on the 2019-20 budget adopted in May, the city would have a shortfall of $141,000 if the council left the property tax rate at 23.1 cents, Martin said. The compensating rate of 23 cents would result in a $158,000 shortfall.
In other business at Tuesday’s meeting, the council:
- The council met for approximately 20 minutes in closed session to discuss the appointment of a new fire chief but took no action after coming into open session and adjourning for the night. The city’s deputy fire chief, Steve Futrell, was present for a portion of the closed session.
- Voted unanimously for an ordinance that increases the number of airport board members from six to 10.
- Unanimously approved the Surface and Stormwater Utility budget of $1.164 million.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
