HOPKINSVILLE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – A speedy Hopkinsville City Council meeting on Sept. 1 with no input or discussion from present councilmembers resulted in the first vote to maintain the property tax rate.
During the most recent Committee of the Whole Meeting in August, City CFO Melissa Clayton told councilmembers that there was an unusual decrease in property values this year. For 2026, assessments done by the PVA’s office dropped by nearly $38 million, for a total of just over $2.5 billion. Clayton said, “Our tax rate is based on the assessments and how much money those assessments will produce.”
She recommended that the city council approves the compensating property tax rate of 20.5 cents per $100 of assessed property, versus last year’s 20.2 cents per $100 of assessed property. Clayton told the council that if they stuck with last year’s rate, the city would bring in around $80,000-$90,000 less revenue and would not make enough to keep up with what was budgeted for property taxes.
Councilmember Chuck Crabtree said that this would give a small break to property owners since the city recently dropped net profit taxes for businesses. In response, Clayton said that if they “come in short” the city would utilize prior year revenue to cover the difference.
Despite the recommendation for the compensating rate, a motion was made to forward the 2025 tax rate to council for a vote.
At the Sept. 1 meeting, the city council unanimously passed the first reading of the 20.2 cents rate with no additional discussion. The tax ordinance also included 23.9 cents for personal property and 25.1 cents for motor vehicles, both of which remain unchanged from previous years. A second and final vote will be held at the next city council meeting.
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