BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

INEZ — The Martin County Fiscal Court approved a property tax increase for 2024, raising the real property tax rate from 11.5 to 12.1 cents per $100 of assessed value, a 5.2% increase.

The measure, expected to generate $372,646 in revenue, passed in a 3-0 vote Tuesday with District 4 Magistrate Junior Hunt and District 3 Magistrate Tracy Spence absent.

Judge/Executive Lon Lafferty put the increase into perspective ahead of the vote.

Lafferty explained that had the court not taken the compensating rate calculated by the Kentucky Department for Local Government—the rate that would generate funds equal to those of the last fiscal year—the county “would have had a projected deficit, which would result in potential loss of services.”

“That would be an additional $47,000 to the county,” he said. “It’s not a lot—$47,000—when cutting weeds is $60,000, but we can certainly use that.”

The Fiscal Court also accepted tax rates set by various special districts within Martin County:

• Martin County Extension Services raised its real property tax rate from 13.1 to 14.3 cents per $100, a 9.16% increase. It increased its tangible personal property tax rate from 24.5 to 33.78 cents, a 37.8% increase.
• Martin County Public Library reduced its real property tax rate from 10.7 to 10.6 cents per $100, maintaining its tangible property rate at 10.7 cents.
• Martin County Health Department retained its rates across the board at 4 cents per $100.
• The City of Inez kept its tax rates steady at 9.2 cents per $100.
• The City of Warfield raised its real property tax rate from 9.6 to 10.1 cents per $100, a 5.1% increase, holding the personal property rate at 9.6 cents.
• Martin County Board of Education kept its rate unchanged at 84 cents per $100 assessed value.

In other business, the Fiscal Court appointed Jesse Muncy to the Martin County Tourism Board, filling a vacancy left by the late Stephanie Stiles May.

Magistrates also voted to allocate opioid abatement funds to lease office space for CARES program worker Carmel Stafford Cline in the Collier Center at $1,000 monthly.

Deputy Judge/Executive Carolea Mills explained that opioid abatement funds are restricted to such purposes.

“The library has an open space,” Mills said. “We’ve hired Carmel Stafford Cline—she’s been working for us but doesn’t have an office space. It would be in the court’s interest to rent a small office space in the library. …[Cline] is doing a lot of great things for people in need, and I think it’s a win-win for everybody.”