Commissioners set Paducah property tax rates, extend city manager contract

At their meeting on Tuesday, the Paducah Board of Commissioners finalized property tax rates and renewed the contract with Paducah's city manager.

Daron Jordan's contract was extended by unanimous vote for an additional two years. He has been on the job since August of 2021.

The final reading of the ordinance to set real estate and personal property rates for Fiscal Year 2024 was passed. The ordinance set the real estate tax at 25.6 cents per $100 of assessed value, as compared to a year ago at 26.5 cents.

The compensating rate would have been 24.7 cents per $100 of assessed value. Kentucky Revised Statutes allow cities to raise their rates no higher than 4 percent of the compensating rate. Since the city's proposed tax levy of 25.6 cents was higher than the compensating rate, a public hearing was needed. It took place at the commission's last meeting. 

Police Chief Brian Laird highlighted his department's recent initiatives. Neighborhood meetings have addressed concerns of people in specific neighborhoods. So far, police have met with 25 of 37 specific neighborhoods scheduled. Concerns range from speeding in residential areas to thefts from unlocked vehicles, fireworks, lighting, garbage, stormwater drainage, illicit drug activity, and vagrants' panhandling.

Since last fall, the Paducah Police Department has worked with LiveView Technologies to place 32 camera systems outside businesses. That pilot project, known as the ACCESS Taskforce, was put in place to bolster safety while reducing retail theft. Each mobile camera unit is valued at $50,000. Laird reported that using them between November 2022 and May 2023 resulted in a 13 percent reduction in crime, and participating businesses' reactions were positive. 

Fire Chief Steve Kyle addressed requiring newly-hired firefighters to commit to their employment by signing contracts. A problem for the Paducah Fire Department and others has been that after a firefigher recruit completes extensive State Fire Academy training that the city funds, other fire departments hire those newly-trained, essentially free-of-charge for training costs to those departments. Paducah's employment provisions now stipulate that when a firefighter leaves within five years, that individual must pay the city back a prorated portion of the training costs. The city will soon require a similar arrangement with new police officers. 

Commissioners approved two measures concerning renovaton of the Robert Cherry Civic Center. One is the authorization of modifying a contract with Midstate Construction. It increases the contract by about $7,000, because of several issues. One is the Heat/Ventilation/Air Conditioning screen and window trim changes. Commissioners also authorized the city manager to seek proposals to rebuild the parking lot. Renovations should be completed by year's end. The refurbished building will serve as offices for the Parks and Recreation Department's administrative employees. It will double as an operations center in emergencies. 

The city's communications manager, Pam Spencer, and planning director, Nic Huchison, highlighted their ideas to increase awareness concerning quality of life topics. It also responds to citizens' complaints concerning noise from vehicles. Spencer proposed a campaign she named Consistent and Kind Paducah. It involves news media releases and social media posts highlighting advantages of considerate behavior toward one another. 

Cirty Clerk and Director of Customer Experience Lindsay Parish addressed funding the city received from opiod settlement agreements Paducah expects to receive, along with funds from settlements with Allergan, CVS, Teva, Walgreens, and Walmart.

Mayor George Bray proposed using some funding for First Responder Deflection initiatitves. Typically, a law enforcement or fire/EMS officer leads them to refer individuals for treatment and service, possibly instead of arrest or charges, upon completing treatment. Bray would gather community partners to discuss ways funds best could address opioid issues in Paducah. He also raised the idea of partnering with the county in fund distribution. 

Individuals and groups interested in participating in the opioid dscussion may contact Parish at lparish@paducahky.gov or phone 270-444-8506.