OAK GROVE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – The Oak Grove City Council approved the first reading of the ordinance establishing this fiscal year’s property tax rate after ongoing discussion a postponed vote.

On Sept. 15, councilmembers opted for a 4% tax levy of 23.1 cents per $100 of taxable real property that would increase rates for residents, while bringing in over $1.4 million into the General Fund. The optional compensating rate that was proposed previously was slightly lower at 22.3 cents per $100.

“I know that nobody wants to raise taxes…but without raising taxes, how will you get the things that you need?” said Councilmember Isaiah Spencer during the meeting. “We won’t be able to develop our city without raising those taxes.”

At the beginning of the meeting, the city’s financial director Matt Egbert warned the council that any further delay in approving a tax rate would lead to a disruption in services and budgetary issues for the city. Previous discussion about the tax rate resulted in a tense meeting full of accusations, along with questions about the city’s fiscal responsibility.

Investigation into raises, tax levy accepted

Councilmember Janet Edwards had previously pushed to accept the lower compensating rate that was not initially budgeted by the city due to supposed fiscal irresponsibility via distributing large merit raises. She explained at the time that they should not establish a levy until they have their finances under control.

Going into the Sept. 16 meeting, Edwards shared with the council that she and the financial director further investigated the $35,000 in merit raises that had been distributed since 2023. They determined that there was poor documentation in relation to these raises, and routine pay increases given within departments were improperly entered into the system as merit raises.

“So, with that in mind, I feel very comfortable that we are not capriciously giving out $35,000 in merit raises,” said Edwards.

She went on to say that they are not sure if the discrepancy was purposeful or was just error. At a previous meeting, councilmembers accused Mayor Jackie Oliver of distributing the large raises to select employees. Egbert is going to continue researching the raises, and Edwards shared that she now has more faith in the city’s ability to be more fiscally responsible with a tax levy.

Councilmember Spencer continued to say that they would hinder the city’s growth and limit their ability to grow services like the fire station and establish sidewalks in the city if they did not approve the increase. The council unanimously approved the levy during the first reading; a special called meeting has been scheduled for Sept. 22 at 5 p.m. for the second vote.

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