By Carolyn Reid
Taxes. As Ben Franklin, they are certain, as is death, but today’s society may find death easier to accept.
As county tax season is around the corner, and as the county and the city attempt to come to terms regarding who owes whom for services, The Falmouth Outlook asked John Steele, PVA for help in understanding taxation, and it also accessed the budgets of county, the City of Butler, and the City of Falmouth.
Much confusion rests on the fact that the county bill is all one bill, but many taxing districts and divisions are represented on that bill. In order to explain this, John Steele, PVA, shared this document that breaks down the taxing information. All of this is collected by the county.
As of the 2022 tax year, real estate taxes were set as follows on a per thousand basis:
This list of taxing districts totals $12.140 per thousand of real estate value which is distributed by the fiscal court.
The Pendleton County Ambulance District, Northern Pendleton, and Piner/Fiskburg Fire District all get the allowable maximum with Pendleton’s taxes being $1 per thousand while Northern Pendleton is charged $2 per thousand due to financing both an ambulance and fire coverage.
Pendleton County Fiscal Court currently pays the City of Falmouth for fire protection for the county. That will change upon the completion of a new county fire house. That is hoped to be completed within the next year to 18 months.
The county also taxes tangible property, which includes business furnishings and equipment, manufacturing machinery, inventories, materials and supplies, artwork, antiques, coin collections, and construction equipment. Kentucky registered automobiles and watercraft are registered with the county clerk and are exempted from this taxation. (Revenue.ky.gov) The rates are as follows:
This totals $16.50 per thousand for any tangible properties.
How the county funds are spent:
According to the information Steele shared, county real estate alone brings in approximately $916,000 with $89,000 coming from the City of Falmouth and $20,709 coming from the City of Butler. Tangible property taxes bring another $60,000 to the fiscal court coffers, and the motor vehicle tax brings in $190,000. Bank franchise and franchise corporation tax bring in $165,000, and occupational fees and taxes pull in $950,000. Delinquent property taxes are budgeted at $10,000, and deed taxes at $30,000.
The total for these accounts comes to $2,305,200. Other fees, licenses, grants, state allotments and reimbursements, various federal funds and taxes bring into the county a total revenue of $7,263,104. Each year, every dime of that money is allocated in a budget that services roads, jail fees, planning and zoning, animal control, dispatch (which is also funded by cell phone fees and landline fees, but this year, Judge/Executive David Fields says, $380,000 from general funds went to its upkeep), law enforcement, code enforcement, solid waste, and fire protection for the county, county workers’ pay, and other services and economic benefits. General funds have also been allocated toward the road department the past two years to purchase needed equipment.
While the other taxes mentioned above are taken in by the sheriff’s office at the end of the year, those monies are dispersed to the other taxing districts accordingly. The ambulance, library, and other entities do not run through the fiscal court if they are their own taxing districts.
Falmouth:
The property value assessment of Falmouth as a whole is $61,789,404. At a $6.56 tax rate, the city collects a total of $405,398, according to PVA records. The city’s general fund for this year had a beginning balance of $731,396, and it estimates its revenues for the coming year, with taxes and grants, to be $1,081,850 with revenues from the mayor and council at $237,250 (parks, blighted property, etc.), fire at $282,015, and police at $528,200. Expenses are listed as the school property as a $60,000 purchase and $7,000 for its inspection. ABC funds will help add to the police force, totaling $41,000, and the city will be reimbursed for the water line at $25,000. A line, “County not expended,” totals $20,000 and General Fund Anticipated Unexpended totals a negative $69,751. The general fund at the end of the year should hold over $200,000 for next year,, and the projected year-end balance is hoped to be $34,385. The line item “economic development” is $515,029.67, and that is set aside for projects such as the school center rehab, the planned splash pad, and other projects.
Tangible property in the city is taxed at a rate of $6.79 per thousand.
The city also collects an insurance premium tax. That amount was not available at the time of publication.
Butler:
The property value assessment of Butler as a whole is $14,381,390. The city rate is $7.50 per thousand, bringing in $107,860 to the city from real property.
Butler’s 2023 revenues were $586,986.
The City of Butler has expenditures budgeted with the categories of council and legal, salaries, benefits, stipends, office expenses, utilities, depreciation, insurance, gas and maintenance for emergency equipment, contributions, mowing and snow removal with connected supplies, capital improvement, flood and animal coordinator, Butler fire protection (with Falmouth at the rate of $9,156), a road fund, a festival fund, police and fire salary, and stipends totaling $494,915. The budget further allows for emergency and capital funds.
Tangible property in Butler is taxed at a rate of $24.14 per thousand.