The Clark County Fiscal Court approved an agreement with the Winchester Board of Commissioners to share tax revenues from the current and new hospital sites, a move Clark County Judge-Executive Henry Branham described as putting another piece of the puzzle in place for the community.
“To me this is more than this agreement, it’s more than just the money,” Branham said. “It’s the whole idea of collaboration and cooperation that we’re fostering in this community, and I think it’s part of our strategic plan, part of our community action plan, and I think we’re putting this together and it’s going to benefit this community greatly. This is another piece to that puzzle that we put in.”
Under the agreement, 65 percent of occupational tax revenue will go to the city and 35 percent will go to the county, and the city and county will divide the insurance premium tax revenue evenly. Property tax revenue is not subject to the agreement.
County commissioners Rick Smith and JoEllen Reed worked closely on the agreement with City Commissioners Rick Beach and Shannon Cox.
Reed made the motion to approve the agreement, and Smith seconded the motion.
Under the interlocal agreement, the city and county will share collection, sharing and distribution of revenues generated from the two sites. The agreement will last for 15 years after it becomes effective.
When the agreement expires, the city and county can renew it for five years. After that, the agreement will renew every five years.
The county will be responsible for maintaining the condition and safety of Caudill Drive, and the city will be responsible for maintaining the condition and safety of Brownland and Croxton Ways.
City commissioners approved the agreement Jan. 17, and touted it as the first agreement of its kind in Winchester and Clark County. That sentiment was echoed at Wednesday’s Fiscal Court meeting, where
Mayor Ed Burtner appeared before county commissioners to voice his appreciation for and support of the agreement.
Burtner complimented Smith and Reed for their hard work in negotiating the arrangement with the city. He said both governmental entities are on the same page and called it a “very good thing.”
“That’s where sort of the rubber meets the road, if you will,” Burtner said.
The agreement also establishes a Winchester-Clark County Revenue Sharing Districts Board, on which two city commissioners and two county commissioners will serve.
The board will be responsible for overseeing the agreement and the two sites.
Beach and Cox will represent the city on that board, and Smith and Reed will represent the county.
Reed echoed the mayor’s sentiments and said the two governmental bodies had a “healthy, informative, working relationship” during the negotiation process.
“We were all looking at, it’s been referred to earlier as not what was best for the city, not what was best for the county, but what was best for this community,” she said. “It was a work in progress for months, and I feel like a good product has finally come to fruition.”
Contact Katie Perkowski at kperkowski@winchestersun.com or follow her on Twitter, @TheSunKatie.
