HOPKINSVILLE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – Several representatives from agriculture businesses voices their distain and shock over a dramatic tax increase that is leaving some businesses questioning their status in Christian County.

Wayne Hunt, CEO of H&R Agri-Power, was the first of six representatives to address the Hopkinsville City Council during the Nov. 19 meeting. Each individual shared their perspective of the impact and potential consequences of a sudden increase of business licensing tax this year. In Hunt’s case, H&R Agri-Power experienced an increase of 700% with no warning.

Brandon Garnett, the Regional Vice President of Agricultural Lending at Farm Credit Mid-America told Christian County Now that the tax in question is an annual business license tax. He explained that prior to 2024, there was a $10,000 cap on what businesses would pay for this license. In 2023, previous council members voted to remove the cap, which was enforced with no warning or discussion. Garnett said it has had a significant impact of select businesses over the past year with thousands and sometimes hundreds of thousands of additional funds now expected.

Garnett continued to say that they have been gathering information and holding meetings for the past year to prepare before formally addressing the city council. “We’ve been trying to be organized about it too to make sure we understand the impact and make we understand the numbers, because we haven’t been able to access any information from the city,” he said.

Krusteaz and others share concerns

Kevin Maynard, the plant manager for the Krusteaz Company in Hopkinsville expressed his shock and displeasure with the tax which increased by 1,400% for the company. He shared that while they want to continue to support this community, they realistically have to weigh their financial options when it comes to their future in Hopkinsville saying, “We have alternatives. We have a plant in Illinois, we have a plant in Washington, we have plants in Kansas. If it doesn’t’ work out best here, we can go to other places.”

The Vice President of Siemer Milling Company, local farm owner Phillip Garnett and the Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture Johnathan Shell also shared their experience with councilmembers.

“Stability breeds investment in your communities,” said Shell. “The more stable that you are in the decisions that you make, the more stable that they are in understanding the impacts of the decisions that you make.”

Finding a solution

As the meeting wrapped up, Ward 6 councilmember Travis Martin made a motion to address concerns by creating a committee comprised of some of their agriculture partners to discuss the issue further.

“Obviously we have some community partners who are upset concerning this business tax cap, I think there needs to be more discussion to see what kind of compromises if any that we can come up with,” said Martin. “At the end of the day I don’t work for the city, I work for the people sitting in those seats, and those people are upset so I think we need to listen more.”

Ward 10 councilmember Steve Keel added that the small businesses commission and other local business should be included on the committee. It was ultimately decided that the topic will be added to the business list, and Mayor J.R. Knight will draft up a municipal order with in-depth details about the committee that will be presented to council at a later date.

After the meeting, the agriculture representatives voiced their approval for the formation of the committee. They agreed that the main issue was being left out of the conversation and believe that it will be beneficial to open a line of communication to discuss the best options for all businesses in the city.

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