Over 60 McCracken County citizens attended to hear about the proposal and to hear from the speaking public, with approximately 20 people signing up to voice their concerns during the meeting.
The meeting kicked off with McCracken County Judge Executive Craig Clymer giving a presentation on why he believes they should implement the new taxes.
His presentation covered the following information:
• The county having spent from savings for over a decade.
• The counties bond rating decreasing due to poor financial condition.
• The tax rate being 14 percent lower than in 1990.
• The PVA property evaluation conundrum.
• Deferred costs such as paving, equipment, & property maintenance.
• Research into comparable counties.
• The effect of the pension crisis on the county.
When it came time for the public to speak on the issue, the resounding sentiment was one of displeasure. With many saying the county needed to find alternative ways to pay county debt and fund the various programs.
One McCracken County resident shared his thoughts on how the county could move forward without imposing a tax. Matt Baker believes the solution could be found in medical marijuana.
He said, "I'm offering a way to fix all this, not raise any taxes, help our community, help the opioid epidemic, help cancer patients, and to help ourselves like we used to, when we knew our neighbors, when everybody helped each other."
Paducah mayoral candidate George Bray praised the transparency of the meeting, but says not all of the questions were answered.
"I think the meeting was good from the standpoint that it invited transparency, but I think there are still lots of unanswered questions. A lot of participants in the audience still have more questions." Bray continued, "I think the burning question is exactly how much money will the proposed insurance tax actually generate? That question wasn't answered. I make the assumption that the Judge and County Commissioners don't know that."
When asked his thoughts on the outcome of the meeting, Commissioner Eddie Jones believes it helped answer some of the questions many citizens had.
"Nobody enjoys talking about this, but a lot of questions were answered. I appreciate Judge Clymer's format and the way it brought transparency to the public, of this process."
On closing, Clymer reminded the public that the discussion is ongoing, and there is another public hearing scheduled for Monday, February 10 at 5 pm for those that were unable to make it to the first meeting.
On the Net:
Public Hearing on Insurance Premium Tax Tuesday
