Doug Matthews
Woodford County Judge-Executive James Kay paused the work of Fiscal Court at its meeting Tuesday, Oct. 22, to honor the memory of Doug Matthews who died Oct. 11 at the age of 87. Kay said Mr. Matthews was dedicated to public service throughout his long life and had served as a Fiscal Court magistrate for the 7th District, served as the co-chair of Martha Lane Collins’ successful gubernatorial campaign and had served on the Versailles-Woodford County Parks and Recreation board.
“Doug was an amazing man . . . a great Woodford Countian,” said Kay. “He left such a legacy and impact on our community, which we all still benefit from even to this day.”
After the court held a moment of silence in Mr. Matthews honor, Woodford County Attorney Alan George continued the tribute, bringing attention to his long-lasting contributions to the county.
“I served on the Fiscal Court with Squire Matthews, he was an excellent magistrate and always attuned to the needs of the county and always comported himself with dignity and distinction. . . Doug was part of the groups that made two great saves in Woodford County in the Woodford Hospital and Jack Jouett House, both of which were . . . on life support . . . . Doug was a part of the core group that championed the building of Community Stadium out at our county park. That was a massive undertaking at the time and we got a crown jewel as a result.”
Bourbon Barrel Tax
The Fiscal Court heard a presentation from the Kentucky Distillers Association (Association) that argued the phasing out of the barrel tax will have no impact on counties or county taxing districts. Adam Johnson, vice president of state relations for the association, said, “We realize there is a lot of miscommunication and bad information out there so we wanted to come in and talk to you guys, see if you had any questions and really explain this barrel tax reform.”
Even though the battle of the barrel tax repeal bill ended with the passage of House Bill 5 in 2023, Anderson, calling it a “really historically bad tax for this industry,” provided context for his remarks by outlining the compromise that led to the passage of the tax repeal, which he said takes three forms: school funding at existing levels, EMS and fire districts being exempt from the tax during the phase-out period with, if needed, a replacement tax on distillers, and no exemption from property tax on barrels aging in warehouse construction financed through county Industrial Revenue Bonds (IRB).
According to the Legislative Research Commission’s website, the law, as enacted, slowly phases out a property tax on bourbon aging in warehouses in over 25 Kentucky counties beginning in 2026 before being eliminated by 2043.
Timothy Eifler, a lawyer with the Lexington firm Stoll Keenon Ogden, presented on the impact of this tax policy commissioned by the Association where he examined the data of the five Woodford County distilleries (Woodford Reserve, Castle & Key, Glenns Creek, Bluegrass and Saga Spirits) and then extrapolated conclusions on the impact of their barrel tax liabilities to the county.
Because there are IRB-financed warehouses in the county, Eifler said this was critical to understanding the real effect here.
The Fiscal Court approved two IRBs, in 2013 for $60 million (matures in 2044) and in 2022 for up to $120 million (matures in 2052), which are being used by Brown Forman (owner of Woodford Reserve) to finance land purchases/leases and construction of up to ten bourbon barrel aging warehouses.
Eifler used a lengthy paper handout to demonstrate that with the tax on IRB-financed warehouses and the fire and school district exemptions, the county will see no loss in tax revenue through 2042. That’s when the taxes expire, including the district and IRB exemptions. He said the county will see a growth in tax revenues from the barrel tax over the next decade before it starts phasing out. This, he said, will result in a net gain of tax receipts.
Johnson said, “I’ll end by saying we hope (this presentation demonstrating the phase down of taxes) buys you time to work on future models for revenue coming in and shows the excess money coming in based on these projections.”
Eric Gregory, president of the Association and Midway resident, concluded the presentation by going over the significant economic benefits of the industry and said, “Yes, we are very proud of the economic impact the bourbon industry has all over Kentucky (and) Woodford County is one of the main recipients not only in employment and output, but in corn production (used in the distilling process).”
General Election
Woodford County Clerk Sandy Jones provided a status on how voting was going in Woodford County and approaching deadlines.
Jones also outlined a new post-election audit procedure going into effect this election under a new law passed in the 2024 legislative session. She said that under the new “hand to eye” audit, the state Board of Elections will inform her of which race and which numbered machine will be audited. A Republican and Democrat representative will, in the presence of the Woodford County Board of Elections in an open room, open the machine and each representative hand count the actual ballots and then determine if the “hand-eye” count matches the results reported by the machine on election day.
The entire “hand-eye” audit is recorded by videotape which covers the entire room and is not zoomed in on the participants. To do this, Jones requested the use of the Fiscal Court courtroom. The date is yet to be set, but she is hopeful it will be on Nov. 7 at 9 a.m.
Holiday events
The annual “Spooktacular” event will be downtown on Main Street on Sunday, Oct. 7, from 4-7:30 p.m. Trick or Treat will be held on Thursday, Oct. 31.
Assuming the city can procure a tree, the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony will be Dec. 6, from 5-7 p.m. The Santa Shuffle and Parade will be Dec. 7, from 1:45-7 p.m. and community Christmas caroling event will be on Dec. 14, from 5–6 p.m.
Treasurer’s Report
Treasurer Melody Traugott reported the current balance in the county’s account is $14,667,129.51.