Property values allow Williamsburg City Council to decrease tax rates

Janie Slaven, The Times-Tribune, Corbin, Ky.
·2 min read

Sep. 14—WILLIAMSBURG — A huge increase in the city's overall property assessment has allowed the Williamsburg City Council to decrease property tax rates by a relatively significant amount this year.

Meeting in special session Wednesday evening, council members heard the first reading of an ordinance setting the 2023 real property rate at 32.1 cents per $100 valuation — down from 32.5 last year — and the rate for personal property (tangibles) including automobiles at 37.45 cents — down from 45 last year.

Unpaid property taxes as of January 1, 2024 will be assessed a penalty of 10% and will incur 6% interest per month until paid.

Mayor Roddy Harrison noted that Williamsburg's new property increased from $2,753,000 last year to $28,228,350.

"Obviously, assessments go up [and] our taxes go down," the mayor said.

Overall property assessment within Williamsburg's city limits increased, according to Harrison, from $190,191,732 to $221,297,316. Tangible property value increased overall from $28,253,709 to $39,020,226.

The council attributed much of the real property increase to the opening of The Mint Gaming Hall — Cumberland, with Mayor Harrison noting that the additions to Firestone are not yet completed and therefore were not included in the latest assessment report.

"It'll show up next year," he said.

The ordinance's second reading is scheduled for today (Thursday) at 5 p.m. in council chambers.

Due to being a special-called meeting, the council on Wednesday could only consider the tax rates — the only item on the agenda. However before the meeting convened and after it was adjourned, Mayor Harrison took the opportunity to pass some announcements on to the audience.

"Old Fashioned Trading Days was a huge success," Mayor Harrison said of last weekend. "It was awesome. Everybody worked really, really hard and had a good time. The weather was perfect until Saturday night."

Council member Patty Faulkner commended the street and sanitation departments, noting that many vendors had praised downtown's cleanliness as well as the community's friendliness.

Upcoming events include:

—Octoberfest — October 7, 4-10 p.m., Greenspace on Main.

—Jeep Roundup and Chili Cookoff — October 14, 12 noon-4 p.m., around Courthouse Square.

—Fall Cleanup — October 23-27 for Highland Park side of the city, and October 30-November 3 for Downtown side.

—Halloween Drive-In Movie — October 28, 7:30 p.m., at Kentucky Splash Waterpark.

—Trick-or-Treating — October 31 (Halloween), 5:30-7:30 p.m.