Bowling Green City Commission discusses proposal involving property tax rates

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. –  The Bowling Green City Commission convened Tuesday to talk about things from new fire truck purchases to buying homes on Fair Street for stormwater usage… but the number one thing on the agenda involved property tax rates.

“We’re not here to hurt the community, we’re here to grow the community to the right size and the right way,” Mayor Todd Alcott said during the meeting.

A proposal was shared involving new property tax rates, as the City’s CFO Katie Schaller-Ward hosted a public hearing on the changes proposed.

The personal property rate has currently remained unchanged since 1980, when it was dropped from thirty cents… and the current plan is to not change the rate itself, rather how it is being assessed.

“What ultimately happens when an individual sees the cost of their property taxes going up on that invoice is because the assessment value went up. The tax rate is then applied to the new assessment value. That’s where they see the increase. So it isn’t necessarily based on the tax rate, it’s based on the assessment values,” Schaller-Ward said.

The ordinance went before the Board of Commission, and it was changed from 20.4 cents to 20.3 after being lowered from 20.5 in 2024. However, there’s a bit of a wrinkle in the process that might delay the passing of the ordinance.

“There is a 45 day waiting period after adoption of an ordinance setting the rate. We would have to publish that notice in the paper within seven days of the adoption. A petition could be filed with Warren County Clerk opposing the rate, requiring the number of signatories on that petition to meet 10% of the total number of votes cast in the last preceding presidential election. For Bowling Green, that would be approximately 2,312 signatures,” Schaller-Ward said.

News 40 will keep you updated as we learn more.