In their regularly scheduled meeting last week, the Olive Hill City Council started the first reading of a new city occupational tax code.
For the privilege of engaging in vocations, companies, or other endeavours for compensation within the city, the ordinance would impose a two per cent tax on “all employees, whether or not inhabitants of the City of Olive Hill.”
“Equal to 2 per cent of the taxable gross salaries, wages, commissions, and other compensations earned by employees for work done or services rendered within the city,” would be the new tax’s stated amount.
If the employer doesn’t comply, their ability to conduct business inside the city borders will be taken away.
In addition, “licencing costs imposed by (the) ordinance which remain unpaid… shall bear an interest rate of twelve per cent” (per year) in addition to a penalty of 5% each month, up to a maximum of 25%.
According to the IRS code, taxable wages include “amounts contributed by an employee to any welfare benefit, fringe benefit, or another benefit plan… or another payment method which permits employees to elect to reduce federal tax for compensation” as well as contributions to “retirement, profit sharing, or a deferred compensation plan which are deferred for federal income tax purposes.”
The complete ordinance is available online here in PDF format.
The council also moved to approve a request for Trane’s project-related energy savings distribution. The Trane representative was questioned by the council over the water project’s sluggish pace. He added that the main cause was the difficulty in obtaining supplies due to problems with the supply chain.
He claimed that although some of the things were ordered last fall, they have still not arrived. For instance, he cited the case of some valves that had been ordered in the fall and were yet to be delivered in April.
Nevertheless, he claimed that some clarifier machinery, including the tank, had been installed. He claimed that their crews were “doing what they can with the underground piping they had” as they awaited the supplies needed to complete that portion of the project.
He gave the council his word that no one was left alone. To lessen the effects of the material scarcity, he said they were getting ahead on other tasks when councillor Chris Bledsoe inquired about what they were doing while awaiting their supplies.
The city was contractually required to pay the disbursement, according to city clerk Chimila Hargett, even though she was aware that the council was “not happy” with the poor pace and other problems.
The move to make payments 12 and 13 was made by Councilman Justin Dixon and was supported by Bledsoe. Councilman Eric Rayburn cast the lone “no” vote on the motion to authorise the payment.
Olive Hill “got the worse part” in the Harshaw-Trane split, lamented mayor Jerry Callihan.
Olive Hill Trail Town asked for assistance in the comments section with setting up posts for a gate that Globe Farm Store had provided.
That gate will aid in regulating access to the town lake to maintain safety. Duane Robers, a spokesman for Trail Town, praised the city for its past and present contributions to the project.
In other remarks, Kristen Bledsoe, the principal of West Carter High School, requested that the city extend the current school resource officer (SRO) arrangement with the high school by one more year as they assess the effects of the new SRO rules on the district and individual schools.
The city, according to the mayor, has “no desire” to continue offering the service, Bledsoe was informed.
When an emergency arose, Bledsoe told the mayor and council that she and other staff believed the SRO had served as a deterrent and that they preferred having an officer who was familiar with the school and the students to someone from the state police who might not be familiar with them.
She continued by saying that even though she was aware of the financial constraints, she thought the children were worth the expenditure.
She said to the mayor, “We have to do all it takes to assure their safety.”
Callihan, however, said that the city had already decided to take the cash out of its budget.
Previously, the city paid the salary and benefits for the SRO from the city police department during the summer months, with the remaining nine months of the year being funded by the school district. Throughout those summer months, the officer was tasked with doing routine patrol duties.
Callihan disregarded their worries by pointing out that even if the school resource officer was not a member of the city police department, the school would still be under protection. He added that even if they weren’t providing the district with an SRO, the city police would assist in any emergency.
He also argued that the district could fully fund the post if they so desired, challenging them to explain why they “had the money for (totally funding) a new school, but not for (fully funding) an SRO?”
He added that he had heard the district was already preparing to establish its own police force to handle SRO responsibilities and had already bought cruisers.
While districts may want to take this into account in light of the new regulation, Carter County Schools’ superintendent, Dr Paul Green, stated that no such plans are currently being made and that no cruisers or other vehicles for SROs have been purchased by the district.
Additionally, as Green has previously mentioned, any money used to create a new school would come from a state fund set aside expressly for building new or improving existing facilities. The SRO wage could not be paid with those monies.
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Before adjourning, the council accepted department reports and heard from Brandon Hamilton, who was requesting a zoning exception for the construction of additional parking spaces for Trail Town Bar & Grill.
