Whitley County residents can expect to see their tax rates remain about the same for the coming year.
The Whitley County Fiscal Court set 2024 tax rates during their regular monthly meeting last Tuesday, though the few changes from last year’s rates remain fairly minimal.
The county’s overall real estate tax will see a slight dip from last year’s rate with a fraction of a cent change at 22 cents per $100 valuation. That reflects an approximate 0.2 cent per $100 assessed value drop from last year. Personal property tax rates will also fall just a tad to 31.06 cents per $100 valuation, which is a decrease of .05 cents per $100 of assessed value.
Those numbers do not reflect the state tax rate and respective school district tax rates.
In other fiscal court business:
– The final step was taken during last week’s meeting to opt out of allowing any type of medical cannabis business to operate within the county.
The fiscal court approved a second reading of an ordinance to opt out of allowing such businesses. With that vote, the cultivating, processing and dispensing of medical cannabis will not be permitted. The county will also not be included in a special lottery being held next month to determine where licenses will be divvied out throughout the state.
With the passage of Senate Bill 47 earlier this year, medical cannabis will be legalized within the state beginning in January 2025.
Whitley County’s decision to opt out will not impact those in the area who legally obtain a medical cannabis card and their right to use it as ordered, though it will have an effect on where they can get it. However, both Corbin and Williamsburg have both voted to move forward with allowing medical cannabis businesses, meaning one or more could be located within the city limits of either one if selected during the lottery.
The lottery will determine what locations will get any of the highly-sought-after licenses for the different medical marijuana businesses. In order to ensure parity, the state has been split up into 11 regions. Whitley County is part of the Cumberland region, along with Laurel, Knox and a dozen other counties.
For dispensaries, specifically, each region will also be limited to the number of each they can have. Each region, with two exceptions, will be capped at four dispensaries each and individual counties would only be eligible to have a single dispensary.
– The fiscal court approved an agreement with Laurel County Emergency Management that will allow Jerry Rains, Whitley County’s emergency management director, to also act in that same role in Laurel County.
According to Judge-Executive Pat White, Jr., Laurel County will agree to reimburse Whitley County up to $15,000 each quarter to help pay for Rains’ salary as well as a vehicle and other associated expenses. Rains will also receive a bump in pay, though that amount was not shared.
White said that Rains has previously served in emergency management roles that required him to cover multiple counties, so there is no concern regarding Rains now splitting his time between the two. White also noted that the agreement allows the two counties to more easily share resources.
