Why do you want to hold the office of Fiscal Court Magistrate?
Mary Ann Gill: I’m running for magistrate because I know the job. With more than 550 hours of training in state and local government issues and having worked through eleven county budgets, I know how to address needs and problems and find solutions. I’ve seen lean times as well as times of abundance in County Government, Things can change quickly.
Tax dollars must be used to provide essential service for public benefit. Allocating funds to outside agencies, persons, non-essential services and costs, deserves scrutiny.
If elected I will continue to research issues, question spending and make informed votes. That is not always easy but Woodford County is worth it.
Joe Johnson: Woodford County is at a turning point; the Fiscal Court’s decisions over the next four years will shape the next forty. I’ve farmed here and lived in both county and city, so I understand
what makes this place special and what protecting it costs. My entrepreneurship and technology career taught me to read budgets closely and demand measurable results. District 7 families want good roads, reliable services, public safety, and a voice in growth. I commit to three things: protect our farmland while planning honestly for growth, treat every tax dollar as my own, and make county government more open.
Fiscal Court has funded a young farmer program over the last two budget years. Do you support this? Would you expand it with additional funding or widen the qualifications to widen the scope for the applicants?
Gill: Sections 171 and 179 of the Kentucky Constitution requires all government actions and spending to serve the public good rather than private interests, while ensuring counties strictly control how allocated funds are used. While I’ve supported these grants before, Woodford County is walking a fine line. They are a drop in the bucket of actual farming costs and lack spending oversight. Government can support farming better by expanding farmer’s markets and creating closer crop markets by bringing in more farming-related industry like a grain elevator or an agricultural co-op.
Johnson: Yes, and I’d expand it now. The average Woodford County farmer is over 58, and development pressure makes land, equipment, and livestock harder for new operators to afford every year. The Young & New Farmer Grant Program is one of the Court’s smartest investments and
deserves more funding in the next budget. I’d widen qualifications to include farmers who lease land and value-added enterprises like processing, agritourism, and direct sales, with priority for Extension beginning-farmer graduates. I’d pursue state and private matching funds, including from our equine and bourbon industries, and publish annual results for accountability. Farmland lost is lost
forever.
Midway recently adopted a Landlord-Tenant ordinance which incorporates a Kentucky statute that provides significant protections to tenants and a non-court process to resolve disputes. Would you support the Fiscal Court adopting such an ordinance?
Gill: Midway adopted the Kentucky Universal Residential Landlord Tenant Act (URLTA) KRS 383.500, which must be adopted in its entirety and CANNOT be amended.
This outdated 42-year-old law can be costly for both landlords and tenants with strict timelines, checklists and written notice rules. URLTA does not take into account things like electronic payments and notices. Handling problems or disputes has strict statutory requirements. We need an ordinance that protects landlords and tenants, but not URLTA. It has to be fair to both and not cumbersome to either, with an efficient and inexpensive civil process to handle problems, safety issues and disputes.
Johnson: Yes, with careful implementation. Kentucky’s Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act has been law since 1974 and is used by Lexington, Louisville, and dozens of other communities. Landlords keep units safe, habitable, and up to code; tenants maintain the unit, pay rent, and follow the lease. From years in property management, I know what water intrusion and neglect do to buildings and people, as Midway’s senior apartment residents recently experienced. Because state law requires adopting the act in full, the Court should first hear from landlords and tenants, review Midway’s approach, settle complaint-handling costs, and coordinate with Midway and Versailles.