City Commission Meeting Highlights

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

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911 Update

E911 Director Jamey Spears provided the Mayor and Commission an update on activities at the Paducah-McCracken County Emergency and Public Safety Communications Center.  Spears says the center operates with a staff of 22 and dispatches for several organizations including the Paducah Police and Fire Departments, McCracken County Sheriff’s Department, the volunteer fire departments in McCracken County, McCracken County Emergency Management, and McCracken County Animal Control.  E911 also works with Mercy Regional Ambulance, the McCracken County coroner and jail in addition to the city and county street and road departments.  E911 answers an average of 444 calls per day with an average of 229 dispatches daily.  Spears outlined several of the current projects at E911 including the 800 MHz rebanding project and the telephone system upgrade which will eventually allow the center to accept multi-media including instant messaging and systems such as On-Star.  E911 is proud to report that it received a score of 100% from the CMRS 911 Mapping Audit.  The audit tested the center’s 911 mapping system on plotting 20 911 addresses and 20 911 wireless calls.  The calls were required to plot within 1/10th of a mile from where the call was placed.  Spears ended the presentation by outlining some of the center’s challenges.  Over the past few years, E911 has experienced an increase in the number of calls from cellphones with 38,451 calls in 2010.  The center is on track to have more than 41,000 cellphone calls this year.  A challenge for E911 centers nationwide is funding due to many people getting rid of their landline and choosing only to have a cellphone.  Locally, the 911 surcharge is $1.50 for a landline but only $0.70 for a cellphone. 

Property Tax Levy:  Public Hearing and Ordinance Introduction (vote Oct. 25)

After a public hearing, the Mayor and Commissioners introduced an ordinance to set the real estate and personal property taxes for fiscal year 2012.  The City’s real estate tax levy is proposed to remain at 25 cents per $100 assessed value.  That rate is the same as the rate set for fiscal years 2008 through 2011.  Since FY1995, the City’s real estate tax rate has dropped from 43.8 cents to 25 cents per $100 assessed value.  Mayor Bill Paxton says, “We are very concerned about keeping the property tax low to help people move into Paducah.”

 The ordinance also outlines the levies decided by the Paducah Independent School System and the Paducah Junior College.  Compared to last year, the tax rate will remain the same for the Paducah Junior College (1.8 cents per $100 assessed value).  The Paducah Independent School District is increasing its rate to 74.7 cents per $100 assessed value.  This is an increase of 3.6 cents or slightly more than 5%.  For budget planning by a homeowner, a home assessed at $100,000 in the City of Paducah and in the Paducah Independent School District will generate a property tax bill of $1015.  Paducah residents will notice a higher property tax bill this year due to the increase in the tax rate by the Paducah Independent School System. 

MOU with EntrePaducah for Small Business Incentive Plan (vote Oct. 25)

On September 13, EntrePaducah Executive Director Terry Reeves briefed the Mayor and Commissioners on a proposed plan to provide incentives to encourage start-up businesses in targeted markets.  The plan was developed by EntrePaducah staff, City Manager Jeff Pederson, and City Commissioner Carol Gault.  At this Commission meeting, the Mayor and Commission introduced an ordinance for a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the City and EntrePaducah for the incentive plan.  Reference the plan, Mayor Paxton says, “It displays our support of people coming back to Paducah and starting their own businesses.  It’s a sign that Paducah is open for business.”  Commissioner Richard Abraham says, “It really helps an entrepreneur succeed.  All the steps are in place.  It’s well thought out.”  In the incentive plan, the City will provide an initial budget of $45,000 to EntrePaducah for the remainder of the current fiscal year.  After this fiscal year, the City will provide $60,000 annually.  For a business to be eligible for the Small Business Incentive Plan through EntrePaducah, among other things, it must open a locally-owned business headquartered in Paducah, complete a business plan and submit a development proposal to EntrePaducah, and create four full-time jobs within 12 months of operation.  The maximum incentive that a qualified business client could receive would be $10,000.  The incentive funds would be allocated as matches to what the entrepreneur contributes.  Reeves says the plan has a good return on investment since there is the potential for the incentive plan to create at least 24 full-time jobs per year. 

Quick Highlights:

• Jenny Boyarski with the Friends of the McCracken County Public Library presented the Mayor and Commission with honorary membership to the library’s advocacy group.  Over the past nearly 20 years, the Friends of the McCracken County Public Library has raised more than $200,000 for the library through fundraisers.
• Resolution approved requesting the issuance of bonds by KEDFA (Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority) in order to finance the costs of various improvements at Western Baptist Hospital in Paducah.  This resolution is a requirement by KEDFA before issuing the bonds to Baptist Healthcare System.  The City of Paducah is serving as a pass-through agency for the bonds.  Western Baptist Hospital Chief Financial Officer Jim Carmain says the approximately $6 million bond will be used to expand operating room capacity from 14 up to 17 rooms, renovate some of the existing operating rooms, and renovate the pre-admission rooms.
• Ordinance approved to close a portion of Adams Street and two alleys bounded by Clark Street on the north, Jackson Street on the south, South 31st Street on the east, and Lone Oak Road on the west.  The closures were requested by the Paducah School System for the new Paducah Middle School site.
• Ordinance approved for a contract with Paducah Ford, Inc. for the purchase and delivery of a 2012 Ford F550 Crew Cab truck in the amount of $49,794.  The truck will be used by the Police Department Bomb Squad to pull their equipment trailer.
• Ordinance approved for a lease agreement with the Commonwealth of Kentucky for the lease of the city-owned facility at 400 South 6th Street.  The Department of Corrections, Probation & Parole Division is leasing 6820 square feet of the facility at an annual rental charge of $10.50 per square foot.
• Ordinance approved to purchase nine digital in-car cameras at a total cost of $25,315 from the London, Kentucky Police Department.  Purchasing the gently used cameras saves the City $17,840.  Grant funds will be used to pay a portion of the cost.
• Ordinance introduced (vote Oct. 25) for an agreement with the Kentucky Department of Local Government to accept a community development block grant award on behalf of the Four Rivers Behavioral Health Center Point Recovery Center. 
• Ordinance introduced (vote Oct. 25) to adopt FEMA floodplain management measures and a revised flood damage prevention ordinance.  The adoption of these measures allows the City to remain in compliance with the National Flood Insurance Program.  This ordinance approves the revised Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) that were completed in May.  These maps replace the FIRM maps from 1982.  Note: the update in the maps is not related to the flooding earlier this year. 
• Ordinance introduced (vote Oct. 25) to adopt the final revised budget ordinance for the prior fiscal year, 2010-2011.  The revised ordinance reflects all adjustments made throughout that fiscal year and any adjustments required by the independent financial auditors.  The City’s CAFR (Certified Annual Financial Report) contains the original budget ordinance, the final budget, and the expenditures for the year.
• Reminder about the Neighborhood Walk with the Commission this Saturday at 10:30 a.m.  The walk will start at the Riviera Apartments on Harrison Street.
• The City of Paducah is the recipient of a national award that will be officially announced tomorrow at a ceremony starting at 10:30 a.m. at Paducah Tilghman High School.
• As a reaction to the recent situation regarding the misappropriation of public funds and the dismissal of the executive director of the Julian Carroll Convention Center, Mayor Paxton voiced his support of the Convention Center Corporation board and the work it is doing to operate the Julian Carroll Convention Center and the Expo Center.  Mayor Paxton says, “I want people to know I have complete confidence in the Convention Center board.”   

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