Economic Development Board
By PJ Martin
Editor
The Herald-News
The Metcalfe County fiscal court met on Tuesday, September 19th in a special called meeting. Since the meeting was specially called only the items on the agenda could be discussed.
The court acknowledged the Metcalfe County School District tax rates have been set with 2023 Real Property and Personal Property at 51 7/10th cents per $100 assessed value and the 2024 Motor Vehicle and Water Craft rate at 56 6/10th cents per $100 assessed value.
Magistrate Daniel Bragg stated, “Make sure that everyone that’s watching this (on Facebook)…We had nothing to do with this!”
It was commented that they had either mistyped or miswritten since the amounts were so high and the paperwork provided was confusing as to the compensating rate or if it was not; however, Treasurer Page Edwards stated that she would verify the amounts. The Herald-News had already verified the 2023 Real Property rate of 51 7/10th.
Economic Board
County Attorney Sharon Howard said, “It’s my understanding you all are wanting to form a board that can accept and do monies. One of the reasons that we wanted to was to accept the payment of loans that are repayments to federal entities made by Pennington Stave and Cooperage (PSC). This is the mechanism we have to have to get the ability to have a board and a revolving fund.”
Howard noted that she had spoken with the Department of Local Governments (DLG) Jared Taylor and Aaron Jones. “We have other purposes that we have in mind, but the money goes into a fund that we can use again, in Frankfort,” explained Howard.
In attendance was former Judge/Executive Harold Stilts who explained further, “The money from the Community Development Block Grant money, the million dollars, has to go back into the county’s revolving loan fund to loan to business places or factories…with a 5 member board and they gotta have oversite.”
Bragg said, “Part of the deal with the money that Chad (Pennington of PSC) got was that he would pay back, as he paid back this block of money to us which would total one million dollars by the time he pays it back.”
One member of the 5 member board must be a member of the fiscal court. The court members were each presented materials concerning the establishment of the board and both a long and short draft copy of the Resolution.
It was decided that each magistrate would take time to read the information and regulations, and then a Resolution vote would be discussed at the next meeting on Tuesday, September 26th.
Metcalfe County Fiscal Court meetings can be viewed on their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/metcalfecountyfiscalcourt.
