Bardstown City Council approves slightly lower 2012-13 property tax rate
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette
Councilmen Tommy Reed and Francis Lydian look at Reed’s iPad prior to the start of Tuesday’s meeting of the Bardstown City Council.
Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012, 11:56 p.m. — The Bardstown City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to lower the city’s property tax right slightly rather than impose a tax hike.
The council unanimously approved first reading of its 2012-13 tax ordinance that will lower the property tax rate from 18.8 cents per hundred value to 18.7 cents were hundred. The revised rate means the city will receive about the same amount of revenue next year as it did last year.
State law allows local governments to set tax rates to create 4 percent of additional revenue from one year to the next. The council’s finance committee discussed the tax rates Monday night and rejected raising the property tax rate.
MEETING MINUTES CORRECTION. The council voted to amend the minutes of its March 6, 2012, special meeting because the minutes stated that Councilman Joe Buckman and City Attorney Tom Donan were present when both were absent. The errors in the minutes first surfaced in a March 19, 2012, Open Meetings complaint filed by Bardstown resident Kevin Brumley that resulted in the Kentucky Attorney General’s ruling 12-OMD-80 issued April 17, 2012 that found the city in violation of the Open Meetings law.
City Attorney Tom Donan explains the needed corrections to the minutes of the March 6, 2012 special council meeting.
The council unanimously approved the corrections.
CLASSIFICATION/COMPENSATION PLAN. The council gave final approval in a split 4-2 vote to the city’s new classification and compensation plan.
The two plans establish city job titles, responsibilities and pay ranges. Approval of the plans were delayed several weeks when the council, led by councilman Fred Hagan, demanded more information on the need to expand the city’s payroll.
Councilmen Bobby Simpson and Tommy Reed cast the nay votes. Reed said the council wasn’t given the information regarding the new jobs early enough in the budget process to determine the need for the new hires.
In other business, the council:
– observed a moment of silence in remembrance of the victims of 9/11;
– approved a rezoning request from I-2 (Heavy Industrial) to B-4 (General Business) from Bardstown Mills. The rezoning was needed because the business wanted to sell from their warehouse building which was zoning for industry and did not allow retails sales;
– awarded a contract to paint the US31E water tower in Fairgrouns Villa north of town to Preferred Sandblasting & Painting, which submitted a bid of $191,590;
– heard a request for funding from Kathy Reed with the Bardstown-Nelson County Human Rights Commission. The group has asked for $1,500 from the city and Nelson Fiscal Court to fund its operation. Reed requested the council consider making funding for the group part of its next year budget;
– approved a request for traffic control by Bardstown Police during the Town & Country Bank Christmas Parade set for Dec.
– heard from City Clerk Barbie Bryant the council will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 18; and,
– authorized the mayor to enter into an agreement with HDR Engineering for services to relocate water lines during the rebuilding of the US150 bridge at the Washington-Nelson County line. The cost of the relocation will be repaid by the state.
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