City board of education 3-2 vote sets tax 2019 rate for 4 percent revenue hike

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2019 — The Bardstown Board of Education voted 3-2 to set its real estate and personal property tax rates to create a 4 percent tax revenue increase for the school district in 2019.

The board set the 2019 tax rate at 86.2 cents per $100 value, plus .2 of a cent added that allows the district to recover the costs of discounts and exonerations, for a total of 86.4 cents per $100 value.

Board member Andy Stone’s first motion was to set the tax rate for a 2 percent tax revenue increase; that motion died for the lack of a second.

Stone’s next motion was to set the tax rate for a 3 percent revenue increase. His motion was seconded by board member Jennifer Shrewsbury. That motion failed in a 3-2 vote, with only Stone and Shrewbury’s casting votes in its favor.

Shrewsbury said her vote for the 3 percent came after she took a hard look at the school’s finances and the history of the tax rates. She said it is vitally important to continue to provide for school finances, though she said she was open to compromising on the tax rate.

The board’s next vote was for the full 4 percent tax revenue increase; the board voted 3-2 to affirm the 2019 tax rate at 86.4 cents per $100 value, with board members Stone and Shrewsbury voting against the measure.

The new tax rate is not a 4 percent tax increase, but an increase in the tax that generates an additional 4 percent in revenue over last year’s tax rate.

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