Daviess County’s Cooperative Extension District has approved a tax rate increase that tops the state’s compensating threshold, opening the door for a possible voter recall, though officials say the change will only add a few dollars a year to most tax bills. Fiscal Court heard the details on Thursday, along with information on a slight tax rate cut adopted by the Public Library.
The Extension District set its 2025-26 real and personal property tax rates at 1.07 cents per $100 of assessed value, up from 0.90 and 0.92 cents, respectively. Motor vehicle rates remain at 4 cents per $100. Because the adopted rate exceeds the 4% revenue increase threshold allowed by state law, the action is subject to recall if citizens petition to place the matter on the ballot.
Extension Agent Clint Hardy said the change was necessary to cover rising operating costs, not to expand programs.
“Our operation costs have been increasing, and our compensating rate has not been able to keep up with our budgeted expenditures for the last few years,” Hardy said. “We were working in deficits, and we just felt like it was time to bring us up to a balanced operating budget.”
Hardy noted that salaries and benefits are the Extension’s largest expense and that the increase should simply allow the district to break even. In an email to Judge-Executive Charlie Castlen, Hardy said the district budgeted just over $914,000 in expenses for the upcoming fiscal year. At the compensating rate, revenue would fall short by about $75,000, while the new rate is projected to bring in roughly $980,000, according to the email.
County Treasurer Jordan Johnson explained that under Kentucky law, if the Extension District complies with all notice and procedural requirements, voters could challenge the increase through recall.
“Any three qualified voters can file a petition,” Johnson said. “That petition must be signed by at least 10% of the number of people who voted in the preceding presidential election. If those requirements are met, it could then go to the ballot.”
The impact on taxpayers is relatively small. Johnson noted that for a $300,000 home, the increase amounts to about $5 more annually. A $200,000 home would see about a $3 difference.
The district will hold a public hearing before Fiscal Court’s next meeting on September 18.
Meanwhile, the Daviess County Public Library adopted its compensating rate of 5.40 cents per $100 of assessed real property, down from 5.70 cents last year. Personal property, aircraft, watercraft, and inventory will remain at 6.20 cents, slightly below the calculated compensating rate of 6.31 cents. Motor vehicles stay at 4 cents per $100. Unlike the Extension District, the Library’s adoption of the compensating rate does not trigger the possibility of a recall.
No action was required by Fiscal Court on either entity’s decision. The rates were read into the record as part of Thursday’s meeting.
