Bardstown City Council to consider new occupational tax rates tonight

NC GAZETTE / WBRT RADIO
STAFF REPORT

Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2015, 1 a.m. — The Bardstown City Council will consider one of three possible occupational tax increases at its 7 p.m. meeting tonight.

The occupational tax currently is  one-half of one cent per dollar of income for anyone working inside the Bardstown city limits. The tax starts at the first $1 and is capped the $100,000 earnings level.

All three proposals remove the $100,000 cap. The first draft ordinance will raise the tax from 1/2 to 3/4 of a cent per dollar of income; the second raises it to 1 cent per dollar; the third raises the tax to 1-1/4 cents per dollar.

The council approved a 2015-16 budget that is balanced by pulling money from the city’s general fund reserves to pay for the added expenses of moving to a 24/7 fire department. Additional revenue to fully fund the budget has been the topic of discussion at recent council meetings, and at the last meeting, the council appeared to agree that a majority would support raising the occupational tax. The majority did not voice support for creating new taxes could include an insurance premium tax and/or a utility franchise tax.

The first reading is on tonight’s agenda, but the council could delay taking action. The council struggled in 2011 to reach a consensus on changing the occupational tax, voting 10 times in a span of seven weeks on six different versions of the ordinance.

PROPERTY TAX RATE. The council will also hold first reading on the city’s 2015-16 property tax rate.

The draft states the city will propose the compensating rate, which will generate approximately the same revenue as in 2014-15.

The proposed property tax on real estate is the same as last year — 18.2 cents per $100 of assessed value. The proposed tax on tangible goods will drop slightly, from 19.62 cents to 19.12 cents per $100 value. The motor vehicle tax remains unchanged at 24 cents per $100 value.

One proposal the council discussed at its last meeting was to raise the occupational tax rate to 1.25 cents while dropping the city’s property tax rate. The majority of the council did not express support for this option.

CODE ENFORCEMENT BOARD. The council will also consider first reading of an ordinance that will create a City of Bardstown Code Enforcement Board. The proposed five-member board will oversee enforcement of the city’s various ordinance and codes, and will — when necessary — conduct hearings, subpoena violators, hear testimony and make findings of fact and impose civil penalties.

Decisions of the proposed code enforcement board can be appealed to Nelson District Court within 30 days of the board’s ruling.

NEXT UP. The council meets 7 p.m. tonight in the council chambers in the Courthouse Annex on Xavier Drive (to the left of the rec center gym).

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