Payroll tax gets the axe…

in a special meeting of the fiscal court yesterday morning, 5-15-2007, the proposed %1 county payroll tax failed to pass. the motion was made by magistrate frankie spencer, and it found no second amongst the other magistrates. judge tim conley then seconded the motion, and it got a reading. magistrates potter, cantrell, and riggsby all voted “nay”, with only spencer and conley voting in favor.
unless a solution can be found by june 10, county government control will fall into the hands of the State. i’m not sure exactly WHAT the solution might end up being, but it seems like if the People’s Choice had given the magistrates a little more time to study on it, and maybe if he’d been willing to actually let them LOOK at the county budget in order to see where it could be trimmed, an acceptable solution might have been reached. as it stands, this payroll tax would be paid by about 3,500 out of Morgan County’s 14,500-ish citizens would be paying the payroll tax. that doesn’t seem quite fair to only tax SOME folks, when all will benefit from the money.

additionally, it is rumored that LVRECC and Mountain Telephone have stated that they will most certainly NOT be paying the tax.

Judge Conley seems to be under the impression that if the State takes over County Government functions that the Magistrates will be stripped of their positions, but I’m not so sure that is the case. maybe one of our more informed readers can let us know what the protocol is??

this will certainly get a lot more interesting in the coming weeks!!

  • Logic

    Here’s what our illustrious leader is up against. (At least a few thousand had the clairvoyance to see what was coming. The website is from the Kentucky State Legislature homepage. Check it out:

    522.050 Abuse of public trust.
    (1) A public servant who is entrusted with public money or property by reason of
    holding public office or employment, exercising the functions of a public officer or
    employee, or participating in performing a governmental function, is guilty of abuse
    of public trust when:
    (a) He or she obtains public money or property subject to a known legal
    obligation to make specified payment or other disposition, whether from the
    public money or property or its proceeds; and
    (b) He or she intentionally deals with the public money or property as his or her
    own and fails to make the required payment or disposition.
    (2) A public servant is presumed:
    (a) To know any legal obligation relative to his or her criminal liability under this
    section; and
    (b) To have dealt with the public money or property as his or her own when:
    1. He or she fails to account upon lawful demand; or
    2. An audit reveals a shortage or falsification of accounts.
    (3) Abuse of public trust is:
    (a) A Class D felony if the value of the public money or property is less than ten
    thousand dollars ($10,000);
    (b) A Class C felony if the value of the public money or property is ten thousand
    dollars ($10,000) or more, but less than one hundred thousand dollars
    ($100,000); and
    (c) A Class B felony if the value of the public money or property is one hundred
    thousand dollars ($100,000) or more.
    (4) The judgment of conviction under this section shall recite that the offender is
    disqualified to hold any public office thereafter.
    (5) Conduct serving as the basis for the conviction of a public servant under this section
    shall not also be used to obtain a conviction of the public servant under KRS
    514.070.
    Effective: June 24, 2003
    History: Created 2003 Ky. Acts ch. 76, sec. 1, effective June 24, 2003.
    Page

  • http://www.lrc.ky.gov/KRS/068-00/350.PDF Logic

    68.350 Investigation and examination by state local finance officer — Action to
    compel compliance with budget law.
    The state local finance officer shall prescribe the books, blanks and forms to be used by
    county officials in the administration of the fiscal affairs of the county under the budget
    laws. He shall examine the budget records and make such investigations as may be
    necessary to determine the condition of the financial affairs of each county. If the state
    local finance officer finds that any county officer is willfully violating or neglecting the
    duties imposed by KRS 68.210 through 68.360, he may institute legal proceedings in the
    Circuit Court of that county to compel compliance with the law.
    Effective: July 15, 1980
    History: Amended 1980 Ky. Acts ch. 19, sec. 7, effective July 15, 1980. — Amended
    1978 Ky. Acts ch. 155, sec. 64, effective June 17, 1978; and ch. 197, sec. 8, effective
    January 1, 1979. — Amended 1962 Ky. Acts ch. 25, sec. 10. — Recodified 1942 Ky.
    Acts ch. 208, sec. 1, effective October 1, 1942, from Ky. Stat. sec. 1851c-7.

    THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE!!! Look it up, folks. Everything you want to know can be found in the KRS.