Hopkinsville City Council voted unanimously and gave final approval Tuesday night to a $48.128 million revenue and spending plan for 2023-24 — the first general budget in Mayor James R. Knight Jr.’s administration. It includes a 6.5% raise for employees, a priority for Knight after he pledged during his campaign to make city salaries more competitive.
For the fiscal year beginning July 1, city officials project $20.265 million in payroll tax revenue, which is the largest funding source for the city. The next two largest revenue sources are the insurance premium tax, at approximately $6 million, and the property tax, at $5.205 million.
The council also voted unanimously on final reading for a $2.096 million capital budget.
In other business, Knight announced the city will begin posting “no loitering” and “no trespassing” signs on city property, and he asked local business owners to do the same.
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“We’re having an abundance of squatters at businesses up and down the neighborhoods and down the Boulevard and everywhere,” he said.
Knight said his aim is to prevent Hopkinsville from becoming a “tent city,” referring to people who do not have housing.
“I understand we fall on hard times, but I don’t want to look like California, San Diego,” he said. “I hope nobody takes that wrong.”
At a recent community meeting where the topic of vagrancy came up, Downtown Renaissance Director Holly Boggess said the city has hired a consultant who will begin looking for ways to address the impact of homelessness in Hopkinsville.
In October 2019, city council adopted an ordinance to prohibit panhandlers from stepping into some of the city’s busiest downtown streets to take cash from passing vehicles. However, the practice continues — even at two intersections where the city posted signs to discourage motorists from giving out money.
In other matters, the council voted unanimously to declare three parcels of city-owned property as surplus. It’s part of a plan by Knight to sell off vacant lots that the city owns and must spend money to mow. The parcels are at 1004 E. 19th St., 151 Mechanic St. and 426 E. Seventh St.
The council received three executive orders from Knight for board appointments. Those are:
- Joyce Brooks, appointed to the Human Rights Commission to fill the unexpired term of Esherica Price. The term ends June 30, 2024.
- Christy Madyun, reappointed to the Board of Ethics. The term ends June 30, 2024.
- Mark Graham, appointed to the Hopkinsville Cable Television Oversight Authority. The term ends June 30, 2027.
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.
