[0:06] Raise your eyes for the pleasure of allegiance.

[0:10] I pledge allegiance to the light of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, the indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Please remain standing for the invocation.

[0:28] Lord, thank you for this day and the blessings you have bestowed upon us. We implore that you direct our hearts, our tongues, and our actions to begin accordance with your will.

[0:38] So, same as from mistakes in airing judgment.

[0:42] We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.

[0:46] All

[0:49] right.

[0:49] Good evening and welcome to a special meeting of the Independence City Council.

[0:52] This is a special meeting, which means that we are constrained to the items that are on

[0:59] the agenda.

[0:59] We cannot have any else other discussions.

[1:04] And specifically, the purpose of this special meeting is to administer the business on this

[1:09] agenda which is the proposed ordinance for tax rates, first reading of our tax

[1:14] rate as well as awarding concrete bids and by the strong law enforcement

[1:18] presence we have a promotion that we're going to go ahead and take care of

[1:23] this evening as well. By way of the what I've probably said every year for the last

[1:29] several years is we are doing a special meeting because the wonderful common

[1:33] wealth requires that we have a budget passed by the end of our fiscal year which

[1:37] of June 30th, and then sometime in August they get us the numbers that calculate the

[1:44] compensating rate.

[1:45] We can't set a tax rate until we know what that compensating rate is.

[1:49] We find that out.

[1:50] The state gets the numbers to us sometime in August, and we have to have two readings of

[1:55] an ordinance so we can begin printing tax bills to go out in October.

[2:00] So there's just no possible way we can do pretty much every year can't do this without

[2:04] a special reading.

[2:05] So that is been the primary reason for the special we use the said tax rate

[2:09] Because this is my final time this week last year you can listen to me. Why and about how the state sets that up?

[2:13] But I had to get in one more

[2:16] With that said before we get started

[2:19] Madam clerk roll call of members, please

[2:23] Here here

[2:29] Here

[2:30] Here

[2:30] here

[2:33] All right, all present accounted for we definitely have a quorum we will go ahead and move on and with that we will move on

[2:43] Sergeant walking could you join me up front please?

[2:58] You don't have the badge yet, but I I see your collar points. I think it's covered

[3:03] All right

[3:05] So this is a very happy moment. We've got a great department. This I think everybody here knows

[3:12] I have a particular fan of now Sargent walking and was very, very glad to see the promotion process play out the way it did and very happy to be in this position right now.

[3:22] So I will get started.

[3:24] Two more of these presidents shall come greeting.

[3:27] Where is the mayor and the police chief of the city of Independence Kentucky by virtue of the authority invested in them by the provisions of the Commonwealth of Kentucky revised statutes?

[3:34] And the charter of the City of Independence do hereby appoint Doug walking a sergeant for the police department in the city of independence, Kentucky.

[3:41] Now, therefore, Doug walking is hereby authorize and empowered to execute and discharge all the duties appertaining to set office and entitled to all the rights, privileges and benefits thereof during his good behavior.

[3:53] In Desmond there are Vice Christopher J. Reiner from Mayor of City of Independence and Brian

[3:56] Praierny, please chief independence, please department to hear and to set our hand and

[4:00] to fix our signature to the stock and document this second day of August 2026, the actual

[4:07] official promotion date, but we always like to have the opportunity to do this in front

[4:10] of Council and our citizens, so congratulations, Sargent.

[5:57] Now let's hear it one more time for Sargent Walker.

[5:59] That

[6:15] completes the fun of this evening, now on to the boring things.

[6:20] We have no items, bold business.

[6:21] We have the two aforementioned items of new business.

[6:24] The first one is proposed ordinance, setting our tax rate for the 2026-27 school year.

[6:30] Turn it over.

[6:31] It would be so kind.

[6:32] School year?

[6:34] School year?

[6:35] Do I say school year?

[6:36] Yeah.

[6:37] Well, technically it is school year, not the school board.

[6:42] This is an ordinance of the City of Independence in Ken County, Kentucky providing for the annual assessment of all real estate personal property within the City of Independence, which is subject to taxation thereby with the secure beginning on July 1, 2026 and ending at June 30, 2027 and providing for the payment collection of such taxes and penalties that interest they're on and describing the purpose for which the taxes so collective shall be appropriate and used it says the ad valorum tax on real property at the rate of 0.193.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3

[7:12] $200 and the ad value tax on all personal property at the rate of 0.5, $34 for each $100 and these are both significantly lower than the compensating rate, and I don't want to take the mayor's thunder away on that one.

[7:26] All right. Thank you, sir.

[7:27] All right, yes, as Mr. Gattle mentioned, yes, these are lower than compensating rate, our calculated compensating rate for the real property rate was 0.205.

[7:38] We were currently at 0.194 and the recommendation is to go down to 0.193.

[7:45] So it is a modest draw, but it continues our trend of dropping the tax rate.

[7:50] We take a hard look as we do every year before coming to you with this recommendation, you

[7:55] know, projecting out five years and cool disclosure.

[7:58] This does put us, projection wise, does put us into the red in the coming years, but

[8:03] we're with the new business that we have coming online, projected growth.

[8:08] I feel like this is something we can handle and, yeah, still not, yeah, so be a good shape,

[8:16] but I'll be honest, I wrestle with a little bit.

[8:19] It's, you know, it's, we've kept cutting and cutting,

[8:22] but I feel comfortable going this,

[8:24] but I wouldn't feel comfortable going any further than that.

[8:26] As far as the tangible rate,

[8:27] this is a bit of an anomaly.

[8:29] So our comp rate on the tangible is 0.757,

[8:34] and we are currently at 0.534.

[8:38] And our finance director Gibson and I,

[8:40] Mr. Morkoni, have discussed it extensively.

[8:43] This is an anomaly.

[8:45] We had one large company that didn't file

[8:47] until after the deadline, which just really skewed the numbers and calculating a

[8:52] comfort rate. This is always a bit of a wild card number. It has so much to do with

[8:57] inventory on hand in businesses and it's a self-reported number. So it can kind of

[9:02] jump all over the place. I've had conversations with business owners over the

[9:05] years that that rate jumping around really have an impact on them. So it's

[9:10] something that I really, you know, try not to just over-react to knowing that

[9:14] the data that goes into it, goes into that

[9:17] concrete calculation is not particularly reliable.

[9:20] So that's the reason for the massage.

[9:22] You know, keep that rate the same.

[9:24] It is not nearly as scary as the difference

[9:26] between point 757 and point 534 suggests.

[9:32] Yeah, with that, I don't know if there's any discussion

[9:35] or well, good.

[9:41] It's funny because the point 193 was what I proposed last year.

[9:44] nobody liked. So I, you know, I should have copyrighted it and he could have used it

[9:49] this year, but yeah. Well, they were trying to take proof of steps in that direction versus

[9:54] leaps would be the only mildly. Yeah, because I, you know, I wanted 193 instead of 194 last year.

[10:02] And so now we're, now we're doing 193. So last year the way I was sounded was like Armageddon would

[10:09] come up. We didn't do, we didn't 193 instead of 194 from the comments I got about it.

[10:14] and it will be in debt, it has to raise taxes in five years and it's what I thought was

[10:20] overreacting but it's nice to see it go we're actually giving the folks an actual tax cut

[10:29] this year. I think I think we've done that pretty consistently. We've cut the rate, we've

[10:36] We've got the rate consistently, but this year is an actual, it's minimal, but it is an

[10:43] actual tax cut, you know, since it says, you know, the decrease of $2 for a $240,000

[10:51] home, yeah, it's not, it's not meaningful, but it is a technically a cut.

[10:57] Well, Mayor, didn't we lower the rate last year, did we cut the rate last year as well?

[11:01] Yeah.

[11:01] Yeah, we've consistently lower the rate as you're pointed.

[11:04] Yeah, but what even the assessment change offsetting the assessment changes or yes, yeah, so it's actually

[11:12] You know, I mean it was a cut last year as well. So just wasn't and this is another kind

[11:20] so

[11:22] Yeah, and I want to clarify that with director Gibson the these projections for the

[11:27] average on the base on average home value

[11:29] to, yeah, this is just the difference in a, okay, I'm sorry, the increase in the prior

[11:36] year, yeah.

[11:37] So yes, the $2 drop in that, right?

[11:41] Our major change, and we had our reassessment year or two ago, and that was last year.

[11:45] Yeah, we couldn't reassess.

[11:47] We tried to compensate for as much of that as we could, but yes, yeah, so, yeah, that's

[11:52] it on the average home price, right, we give you a modest decrease.

[11:55] I think last year wasn't $194,000 for the compensating rate.

[12:01] I don't think I was at it.

[12:04] But that was also a cut.

[12:06] It was still a reduction.

[12:07] Yeah, it was still a reduction.

[12:08] Yeah, I think it was a fairly significant reduction.

[12:11] But this year we're actually going below the compensating rate, which is.

[12:14] What was the rate prior to that?

[12:18] I know last year's rate is the lowest we had been since 2006.

[12:22] 2.20 for Chelsea. I'm sorry. 2.20 for Chelsea. So we went from 2.20 to 0.194. We went from 2.20 to

[12:33] 1.94. So that was pretty significant cut last year to help with the assessment increase.

[12:46] At the end

[12:47] of the day, you see here we've got all the roots here.

[12:54] We were,

[12:58] yeah, last year obviously the 0.194,

[13:00] prior to that, we were, our doctorate was a 0.22. We had held that 0.22 for a few years, 2021. We

[13:06] We were 0.244, 2020 0.271 for the previous several years.

[13:13] So yeah, we've gone a long way from a 0.271 down to a-

[13:18] Planum was for significant cut last year than even this year.

[13:21] Yeah, I mean, that was the 2-2-2-1-9-4 was a substantial decrease.

[13:27] Yeah, that's the most substantial, I think we pay a percentage wise.

[13:32] And we did that because we knew our rights property was getting

[13:35] Right. It was tribespricks. I don't know why we're going over another

[13:40] tax decrease. Right. Right. I mean that was that week. We endeavor last time to

[13:46] the hard work at what the impact of the reassessants and tried to eat up as much as

[13:50] that gap. We were called. We kind of walked through the massive

[13:53] injuries we've had over the last 10 years and police salaries,

[13:56] parks and recreation, roads and so on. And we were also in the middle of building a

[14:00] 1.5 million on our splash pad. We weren't sure it was going to get a budget.

[14:04] And that really is, that's a lot of the reason that I'm inclined to not, I mean, proves

[14:11] generally dictates, don't get too carried away.

[14:14] But you know, we do have the splash pads still not known.

[14:18] We don't know what our maintenance costs are not going to be.

[14:20] We've only been in an operation for a couple of months here, so that's certainly one of

[14:25] the things.

[14:25] And we've got a few other wild cards in here.

[14:26] We've got the arm standing is the state is, are going to quit salting B and C roads.

[14:32] We have a lot of B and C roads of the city and it may fall upon us to take care of those those roads as well

[14:37] So we're not sure where that one's gonna pan out at the end

[14:41] The 536 is that gets completed if you recall we had decided the

[14:47] We liked the grass island and the night and the green space in between them

[14:50] But the way the state agrees to that one is if we agree to maintain it

[14:54] So we're gonna pick up a lot of extra Boeing along these new sections of 536 are coming online. I think it's worth it

[15:00] Looks a lot nicer than a concrete meeting or a gravel median or a weed median as the case may be. Yeah, just riding things as we grow, but that's why I'm thinking on the point 193. What are the, what are considered the BNC road that be like independence road? I'd have to look at a list, but yes, it's going to be Oliver road probably.

[15:24] It seems to be heading in that direction.

[15:28] So that's the state that's not going to solve it.

[15:33] I haven't confirmed that yet.

[15:35] It's on what we're hearing.

[15:37] Yeah, go ahead.

[15:38] I'm waiting on to confirm what I've heard from other cities.

[15:42] So they're going to plow what they're not going to solve?

[15:44] I don't know.

[15:45] I don't have a confirmation.

[15:46] Yeah, this is all, this is all.

[15:49] Here's say that's going around right now, but we've seen the direction.

[15:52] It's gone in the last few years with the state's highway budget.

[15:56] So it's a real listening scenario.

[15:59] Other cities that get their salt from the state,

[16:02] we get ours from the county,

[16:03] but they said that they're cutting back

[16:05] and not going to do B and C roads, whatever that means.

[16:11] But I'm waiting to hear that from Bob Yeager.

[16:15] I'm waiting back to hear back from him.

[16:18] I've heard nothing of this, it's not my department.

[16:20] No, I don't.

[16:22] I always look at you, can you?

[16:23] I assume you know everybody out there.

[16:29] Yeah, but other cities that get their salt it told me that the state when that salt bin on 3L is done for the winter

[16:37] That's it. It's not getting refilled. So I don't know what that means. I'm waiting to hear back

[16:48] Again, we don't know it's just my my point of that is not the doom and gloom. It's just that we hate we have some some question marks out

[16:55] There are so prudent stick pates, we don't want to go crazy.

[16:59] I look at the five-year projections and on that trajectory,

[17:03] yeah, it would be working ourselves potentially into a hole.

[17:06] We could leave some of these things come to fruition.

[17:10] We're at much,

[17:13] we suffer through inflation as much as everybody else does,

[17:17] fuel prices, cost the labor, cost the materials, everything else.

[17:20] If we can still do a tax decrease, even if it's small,

[17:25] I think we're doing everybody in the city a sought like it's it's good for our citizens. It's good for business

[17:31] Good for everybody

[17:35] Any

[17:37] other discussion?

[17:39] All right. Well, that is just the first reading so

[17:42] No action is necessary

[17:45] Next item business is to a for concrete bid for the year for the school year

[17:51] Good

[17:58] somebody caught it

[18:08] All right, Mr. Mourconi, you are a bidmeister.

[18:12] You run with this one.

[18:14] Yeah, I'm somewhat of an expert on concrete.

[18:19] So these two...

[18:23] You see, I'm a bidmeister.

[18:25] I'm an expert.

[18:25] I mean, you're very good at this.

[18:28] Thank you.

[18:28] I appreciate it.

[18:30] That's a compliment.

[18:31] That's a compliment.

[18:31] That's a hundred percent compliment.

[18:33] Did, myster.

[18:34] I kind of like that.

[18:35] I'm going to run with that.

[18:35] But anybody.

[18:36] So, our public services director, Mr. Ken Hicks, these are both bids are basically the same.

[18:42] What we really depend on is that 5,4,000 psi.

[18:47] So the hometown concrete and Ernst are the same on what we use.

[18:51] So Jack, I think didn't one year last year we did a bid to accept both of them.

[18:57] Yes.

[18:57] Yeah, dual case ones busy, so you know council can just pick one or the other but we would like for you to pick both of them because that way we don't have to get in any trouble going over the minimum bid requirement.

[19:11] So if council can accept both bids that keeps things flowing internally.

[19:16] Did that work out pretty well last year with having both of them?

[19:19] I think we did both of these companies for the same.

[19:24] And I just want to say, as an aside, I want to thank you for saying,

[19:27] Bidmeister, because now all I've got is that stupid song,

[19:29] Keep Meiser in my head.

[19:31] Yes.

[19:32] That's a great song.

[19:33] Yeah.

[19:35] So anyway, please just look.

[19:36] Yeah.

[19:37] We would, the bidmeister would like for you all to do a motion

[19:41] to accept both of them.

[19:45] I'll make that motion to accept to earn stand hands on concrete.

[19:49] Second.

[19:50] It's got a motion.

[19:51] Councilmember Francis.

[19:52] Second.

[19:52] Councilmember Stefan.

[19:54] Any other discussion?

[19:56] All right.

[19:58] Hearing none, all in favor.

[20:00] Signify by saying aye.

[20:01] Aye.

[20:02] Opposed nay.

[20:03] That motion carries unanimously.

[20:05] Thank you.

[20:06] All right.

[20:07] And that does complete our business for this evening.

[20:10] Attorney Gatlin, have you anything to report?

[20:12] No, nothing other than we need the executive session, Mayor.

[20:16] All right.

[20:17] Mr. Worker, yes, Mayor.

[20:20] So the, the, the county road at the welcome sign in the four lane

[20:25] continues to come up in various discussions.

[20:28] So we, I'm recommending we fix it ourselves.

[20:33] I have a bid and that little smaller area that's such a mess,

[20:38] the bid would go down to four inch depth repair

[20:41] versus the standard, too.

[20:43] We have the money in the budget to do it.

[20:46] It's independent's paving.

[20:47] We don't really need a motion or anything.

[20:48] I'm just, it's $14,600 for us to go ahead and have it done.

[20:55] Because it seems like we've been talking about that section

[20:58] for six months.

[20:58] It's a bunch, yeah.

[21:00] Can we send the bill to the state?

[21:02] No.

[21:03] I mean, we just fixed it.

[21:05] And I mean, this kind of a little bit of,

[21:07] you know, if you think about that intersection,

[21:08] there's going to be a lot of traffic control

[21:10] because people are coming up, taking a ride.

[21:13] So it's got a little bit of hair on it.

[21:14] It's not just a simple mill and overlay.

[21:16] We've got to have flaggers and all that.

[21:19] And we still have to get an encroachment permit

[21:22] from District 6.

[21:23] So it's not like it's going to happen tomorrow,

[21:25] but I guess Mayor just wanted to let everybody know.

[21:29] We can fix it ourselves and probably get it done quicker internally.

[21:32] It's probably best just to do it.

[21:34] I agree it's probably a plus just to do it.

[21:36] It's kind of one of those things

[21:38] are we just going to keep fixing their problems. Now we've got to plow their roads. Now we've got to

[21:42] salt their roads. Now we've got to fix their roads. I mean, why do we pay taxes to the state?

[21:49] It would be kind of down there. They're working on getting that income tax down to zero.

[21:54] Yeah, yeah. Work on that fast or T.J. Robert?

[22:00] I'm going to be called out on Facebook now. Yeah, but I just bring this up. I know Tom,

[22:05] We talked about it. Yeah, I a lot. I've asked you probably every month. Yeah, and I can remember. So yeah, I appreciate it and I can say it's not, you know, it's something it says to be done for the convenience of the safety of our citizens. Yeah, I think it's beyond just cold patch. Yeah, and the company independence paving that looked at it. They're going down to four inch depth repair. It's it's pretty bad. Just milling the surface really won't fix it. So it's a little bit of construction to it, but it'll be done. It'll be done right and we won't be having

[22:35] discussion in December if we're still waiting. So there's no plans to do

[22:40] anything to the the new and the old sections like for they're going to

[22:45] tear that up anytime like we're going to do it and in six months they're

[22:48] going to start working on the road and tear that up which part we're I guess it

[22:54] would be a business 17 meets the new 17 in that inner section. Yeah that's that's

[22:59] what I'm referring to. Right I know but what I'm saying is there's no plans

[23:04] for the police to start working on either one of those routes where they're going to tear

[23:07] up what we've just done.

[23:09] Oh, I don't, I don't, I don't, I don't, I don't know why I'm going to fix it.

[23:13] Not that they've told us, but you don't have to tell us anything, it's quite much.

[23:18] Well, the, it's the, you know, Oliver at, uh, Fallon Creek is just deteriorating, it's still

[23:23] deteriorating badly.

[23:26] The, um, the, uh, the, uh, PFC, Force Friction Code, that's there.

[23:30] Yeah.

[23:31] Yeah, that's it's it's going to pieces. Yeah, I'll check with that. I have that was on my radar about a month ago.

[23:38] Yeah, thanks. Can I ask this question into the city minister's report?

[23:44] The Cody road, I got a couple questions today about when I know that you contacted

[23:50] Alta Fiber, and I know we don't have any control, but you heard from Alta Fiber when they might fix that tree that's hanging on the line.

[23:57] Is that still there? Yeah.

[23:58] Yeah, I was at 3 o'clock this afternoon.

[24:00] Oh, I'm shocked.

[24:02] I talked to him on Friday and gave him the poll number and told him that it was an emergency

[24:08] and school buses were blah, blah, blah and they said they'd get somebody.

[24:11] Honestly, I thought I was taking care of.

[24:14] I can't believe it's not fair.

[24:15] I got a text from a son parent that said it was as a 3 o'clock this afternoon.

[24:18] It was still there.

[24:20] Okay.

[24:21] I'll find out tomorrow.

[24:23] I honestly, I was just the way they taught them because they would need it that utility

[24:28] pole.

[24:29] There was a plate on there and we got on both numbers and I told them that school buses

[24:35] are having concerns.

[24:36] It won't go under.

[24:36] They're kind of going around it and the only thing holding that tree up is the fiber optic

[24:41] cable.

[24:43] But my shock, it's Monday and it's still up.

[24:46] I thought they were going to get out there Friday based on what she told me.

[24:49] Wow.

[24:50] Thanks.

[24:56] That's all I have to say.

[24:57] All right. Thanks, sir. All right. I don't really have anything other than, uh, we'll

[25:02] post it on Facebook. The, uh, dreaded flock cameras are coming down. They are down.

[25:08] They were deactivated. We've talked to the company. We have taken down the, uh, the cameras

[25:12] themselves. Our crew got out there today, took the cameras off the poles. There are no cameras.

[25:17] The poles and the, uh, the, uh, what we call the solar panels. Yeah. They're still in place.

[25:24] We don't want to risk damaging and paying more money than we already have to and there's I don't see any urgency in that one

[25:30] There's the company can come and get that I think they tell us within the next couple weeks

[25:35] Those have been gone, but you can clearly see there are no cameras on there

[25:39] So that is taken care of that's really all I have a one question about that

[25:44] There's been some questioning about the funding for that now that was never a particular line item in our budget for the flock cameras

[25:52] It's part of their general budget, so that money can be allocated, it was listed in the

[26:00] budget as a block.

[26:01] But yes, it can be reallocated.

[26:03] We don't have any money.

[26:04] We've spent that money going forward, I don't think, correct me if I'm wrong, Rachel,

[26:10] but we don't.

[26:12] It's what we'll be funding in the future, right?

[26:14] I mean, we don't anticipate any refunds.

[26:17] Correct.

[26:18] So yeah, going forward we won't we won't be funding those contracts and potentially additional cameras going forward

[26:24] Okay, I think that was people's general concern is that we were going to turn around and do this again with another company

[26:28] But there is no funding available and we have no intent to do that. Yeah. Okay. Any of that would go by you

[26:36] Okay, thank you. All right

[26:41] With that is turning out and said we do have need for

[26:45] Executive session I would entertain a motion

[26:51] I make a motion to go an executive session based on carers per litigation.

[26:58] 61-810-C.

[27:00] I agree with you, Mr. President.

[27:02] All right.

[27:03] I've got a motion from Councilmember Francin.

[27:05] A second from Councilmember Wade.

[27:08] All in favor, sigma.

[27:10] I say aye.

[27:10] Aye.

[27:11] Opposed nay.

[27:13] We are an executive session.

[27:16] And we'll come back out.

[27:18] Yeah.

[27:22] We don't anticipate any harm.

[27:23] in the action coming out of this session.

[27:31] All in favor signify by saying aye.

[27:34] Aye.

[27:35] All right.

[27:36] We have motion.

[27:37] We have your motion from Councilmember Locable.

[27:41] Second from the right here.

[27:42] Councilmember Franzon.

[27:44] All in favor signify by saying aye.

[27:46] Aye.

[27:47] We are adjourned.

[27:48] Thank you.

[27:49] We lost.

Independence City Council

Transcript