Daviess County Fiscal Court adopts compensating tax rate, approves grants, bid awards and personnel actions

Daviess County Fiscal Court on Aug. 21 adopted a compensating property tax rate and took a series of routine budgetary, procurement and personnel actions.

Treasurer’s presentation: The court heard a financial presentation from the county treasurer, who reported a total cash balance of $78,529,282.68 as of July 31, 2025. The treasurer said the general fund balance was $42,799,284.82 and, after excluding operating reserves and restricted funds, available cash for general‑fund operations was $32,512,984.57. He told the court the county had set up an opioid-abatement settlement fund on the reports and that the general-fund balance is higher than budgeted in part because the county received about $3,560,000 in insurance reimbursement tied to March 2025 hail damage; those receipts have been and are being expensed for repairs and replacements.

Taxes and health district levy: The court proposed and adopted a compensating rate that leaves most ad valorem classifications unchanged while lowering the county’s real-property rate from 2024. The adopted proposed rates were: real property 12.2¢ per $100 of assessed value; tangible personal property 13.8¢ per $100; and motor vehicles and watercraft 17¢ per $100 of assessed value. A court member said the change represents the largest tax reduction the court can substantiate in roughly 25 to 50 years. The court also approved a resolution keeping the Green River District Health Department tax rate at 4¢ per $100 of assessed value as required by KRS 212.755(3).

Grants and road funding: The court authorized submission of the 2026 GRAMA litter-abatement grant program application; county staff noted the award amount will be determined after Nov. 3, 2025 and that grant funds must be used for direct litter-abatement expenses in 2026 under the cited KRS provisions. The court approved the annual agreement with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) under the Rural Secondary Flex Program to reimburse up to $448,000 for selected county roads (Maseville Habit, Millers Mill and West Fifth Street Road); the county will be fully reimbursed by KYTC for those projects.

Bid awards and contracts: The court approved multiple procurement awards tied largely to hail- and flood-related repairs: - Transfer station concrete pad (Bid 2526-06): award recommended to Kilometers Construction Services LLC for $778,000 to build a concrete pad for C&D debris at the Grimes Avenue transfer station; - Operation Center roof replacement (Bid 2526-09): award to Paramount Roofing for $134,900 for the administration building, animal shelter and two sheds; insurance reimbursement will offset the cost; - Griffith Station Road guardrail replacement (SMA 2526-14): award to EFI in the amount of $31,409.50; this vendor is the only responsive provider under the state master agreement; - RFQ 2526-15, clay-target restock for Mattingly shooting range: award to Indian Creek Shooting Center for $24,480.85 (budgeted restock through 2025–26 seasons).

Appointments, personnel and minutes: The court approved a succession of appointments and personnel actions, including reappointments and joint appointments to the Owensboro–Daviess County steering committee on drug and alcohol addiction-free community (Rebecca Horn and Brooke Arnold, terms 09/01/2025–08/31/2028) and the reappointment of Kathy Mattis to the Daviess County Library Board (09/14/2025–09/13/2029). The court approved routine personnel reclassifications and hires: Colton Lanham to crew leader (effective 08/31/2025); Jared Mattingly to truck driver 3 (08/31/2025); and conditional hires of firefighters Luke Eason, Chandler Friels and Carson Montgomery effective upon successful completion of preemployment screenings. The court also approved minutes from its Aug. 7 meeting and claims for payment.

Votes and procedure: Most actions were approved by voice vote with no roll-call opposition recorded in the transcript. For statutorily required health-district levies, the court cited KRS 212.755(3) and approved keeping the 4¢ rate in place. Court staff and members reminded the public that the treasurer’s presentation was for information only and required no vote.

Ending: Court members thanked staff and volunteers for work on repairs and grants, noted ongoing cleanup efforts after recent weather events and flagged Aug. 31 as International Overdose Awareness Day.