The Barren County Fiscal Court met for their hour-and-a-half meeting on Aug. 20 to adopt the 2024 compensating real property tax rate. Michael Crimmins/Glasgow News 1.
By MICHAEL CRIMMINS
Glasgow News 1
During the Aug. 20 meeting of the Barren County Fiscal Court, the seven magistrates unanimously approved to take the 2024 real property compensating tax rate of 13 cents per $100 of assessed property value, which is figured by the Barren County Property Valuation Administration.
According to the Kentucky Revenue Department the compensating tax rate “is defined as that rate, when applied to the current year’s assessment of real property, excluding new property, will produce an amount of revenue approximately equal as that produced last year from real property.” As either property values go up or the amount of taxable property increases the compensating rate decrease to equal roughly “the same tax revenue that was produced the preceding year.”
Such is the case with Barren County. This 13 cents per $100 is lower than last year’s, which was 13.5 cents per $100.
Magistrate and chairman of the Administration and Budget Committee Marty Kinslow spoke in favor of adopting the lower rate saying the county “was in a good financial position.”
Likewise, Barren County Judge-Executive Jamie Bewley Byrd said during the court meeting that she was in favor of adopting the lower rate.
“I fully support this,” Byrd said. “Barren County is growing so much right now that I feel confident…dropping this right now.”
A roll call vote revealed unanimous approval from the magistrates to adopt the 13 percent rate, however in the Aug. 19 Administration and Budget Committee meeting Magistrate Jeff Botts expressed his opinion to leave the tax rate at the current 13.5 percent, which would yield the county roughly an additional $150,000, citing the future plans of the county such as installing lighting at certain intersections and buying new vehicles.
“I’m all for saving, but…do we want to cut it when we know we have these plans in future?” Botts asked. “We got to come up with the money somewhere.”
“If it was me, from a business standpoint, I’d say leave it the same and have that $150,000 to play with,” he added.
That feeling of fiscal conservatism was apparently shared by fellow Barren County Magistrate Tim Coomer who, in the Aug. 20 Building and Property Committee, used the numerous quotes for work to be done on the Barren County Development Center as an example of expenses that might be helped by the rate.
Barren County residents should receive their property tax bills in November.
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