By Allyson Dix
For Glasgow News 1
The Barren County Administration and Budget committee met on Monday, Aug. 17 in the court chambers of the Barren County Fiscal Courtroom to discuss the proposed ad valorem property tax, with committee members weighing whether to keep the current rate or adopt the highest proposed rate.
Magistrates Marty Kinslow, chairman, and Brad Groce were present. Jeff Botts was absent.
The county is currently proposing the higher of two rates available, which is 12.4 cents per $100 of assessed property value. The other option is the lower, compensating rate, which is set to generate about the same amount of revenue that the 2025-26 rate did.
The 2025-26 rate was set at 12.2 cents per $100, and Kinslow raised the possibility of keeping that same rate.
“In general, what I got was the feeling that we would like to leave it where it is today,” Kinslow said before seeking advice from Mike Richardson, the county attorney, on the legal implications for a 12.2 rate as it relates to Friday’s public hearing.
Richardson said anything that exceeds the compensating rate will trigger the need for the hearing.
Groce said if the tax rate remains unchanged, the county is not taking an increase in the tax rate; however, Richardson said that the Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS) do not adhere to whether a tax rate is increase but rather how it compares to the compensating rate.
Barren County Judge-Executive Jamie Bewley Byrd asked if the county can set the rate at either 12 cents or 12.4 cents.
Richardson said the hearing will meet state requirements for anything over the compensating rate as long as it doesn’t surpass the 4% increase rate of 12.4 cents per $100.
“The whole point of the hearing is taking input from the community,” Richardson explained, adding that with the hearing already in place and having been advertised, the county can opt to set the rate anywhere between the compensating rate and 12.4 cents.
Byrd said with the increasing costs and decreasing revenue from state-level inmates at the Barren County Detention Center and the $380,000 loss in road funds, the county will not have enough in the general fund to make up the difference.
“Are we going to be able to justify that the amount of money we’re bringing in is going to be able to pay the bills?” Byrd said.
She said the property tax revenue is not for extra projects, but instead, is used for expenses such as daily bills, payroll, utilities, maintenance, health and building insurances.
She also noted that the county has continued to see a decreasing tax rate since 2015, noting each year:
2015 – 14.3 cents
2016 – 14.6 cents
2017 – 14.5 cents
2018 – 14.5 cents
2019 – 14.3 cents
2020 – 14.5 cents
2021 – 14.5 cents
2022 – 13.9 cents
2023 – 13.5 cents
2024 – 13 cents
2025 – 12.2 cents
In 1979, House Bill 44 was passed to govern the tax rates a local government can levy against property. As property values increase, tax rates generally must decrease to keep property tax revenue about the same. Likewise, if property values decrease, the tax rate may increase.
Local governments are given three options to consider each year: adopt the compensating rate; adopt a rate that produces no more than 4% additional revenue; or adopt a rate higher that produces more than 4% additional revenue, with the latter being subject to a recall vote.
When asked, Byrd said the property tax rates must be finalized by Sept. 30.
According to the 2026 certification of equalized assessment in Barren County, residential real estate is assessed at over $1.9 billion; farm property at $456 million; and commercial/industrial at nearly $700 million.
The county expects to generate $3,838,118 in revenue from property taxes if adopting the lower, compensating rate, compared to $3,966,056 with the higher, 4% increased rate.
Byrd said if the county keeps the rate of 12.2 cents per $100, it equates to an increase of $2 per $100,000 in property value.
For example, a property valued at $100,000 at a 12-cent rate would pay $120, compared to $122 at the 12.2 rate, and $124 at the 4% increase rate.
The public hearing is set for Friday, Aug. 21, at 2 p.m. in the Barren County Fiscal Courtroom, located at 117 N Public Square, Glasgow.
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