E-Town Council approves 2026 city taxes, road project design contracts

The Elizabethtown City Council met for their second meeting of the month Monday. The second reading was held on ordinances setting 2026 city tax rates, all of which were approved. The tax rate for motor vehicle and watercraft is 11.6 cents per $100 assessed value, the franchise tax rate is 0.025 percent on all eligible deposits, and the tax rate for real and personal property is 10.5 cents per $100 assessed value. Elizabethtown Mayor Jeff Gregory said any increases property owners see are because of increasing property values, not increasing taxes. “We’ve had a lot of success here in Elizabethtown here in the last several years, and that property is worth more now, and so when they get another assessment in place and your property valuation goes up, you’re going to pay more taxes, but that doesn’t mean that it’s because this legislative body raised your tax rate, because they’ve lowered it the last two years,” Gregory said. The council also approved on second reading an ordinance rezoning 1010 and 1020 Prospect Point Drive from Neighborhood Commercial (C-2) to Regional Commercial (C-3). The zoning change came with a recommendation of approval from the Elizabethtown Planning Commission. The council approved a municipal order approving a $70,000 professional services contract with Strand Associates Inc. for road improvement designs for Pear Orchard Road, along with an order approving a $365,000 professional services contract with Palmer Engineering for design services regarding the city’s Safe Streets for All grant funding. “The project work will include assessment of design level needs for the East Dixie Avenue corridor and the intersection of KY 3005 and U.S. 62 West; environmental assessment; corridor improvement design to include streetscape, sidewalks, and evaluation of access management; and the development of a preliminary opinion of project costs,” said City Attorney Ken Howard, reading from the municipal order. The council also approved a municipal order accepting a lease agreement with Warm Blessings Community Kitchen for use of city-owned property located in the former Signature HealthCARE facility on Woodland Drive, which the city is converting into a hub for area non-profits. Warm Blessings Executive Director Josh Miller thanked the city for their commitment to the organization’s mission. “The lease and the purchase of this building is about much more than a building,” Miller said. “It’s about belief. It’s about the City of Elizabethtown believing in the mission of Warm Blessings, believing in the people that we serve, and trusting us to continue to do that work well.” The Elizabethtown City Council will next meet September 28.