Kenton County Judge/Executive Kris Knochelmann gave a “state of the county” address to the Covington Business Council at a special luncheon at the Grand Ballroom in Covington last week, where he discussed the county’s policies and projects over the past year with a special eye to local economic development.
“Really, what I want to talk about is the state of Kenton County but also in particular how it affects Covington,” Knochelmann said. “We’re all here because we love Covington; we love the vitality of this core of our county.”
Local business leaders, as well as elected officials and public servants from around the county and region, filled the ballroom, mingling with each other and eating the provided meal before listening to speeches. In addition to Knochelmann’s address, statements included brief introductory speeches from representatives of the business council itself, Blue North, a nonprofit that aids entrepreneurs, DBL Law, the City of Covington, and The Milburn Group.
Most of the speaking time, however, was dedicated to Knochelmann.
“I will say I think Kenton County is in the best physical shape and operational shape it has ever been in, financially and operationally,” Knochelmann said. “That’s a big statement. And I try not to overstate things, but it’s true.”
He displayed slides on screens throughout the room, giving an overview of the county’s operations, the services it provides and notable changes to public policy at the county level.
Specifically, Knochelmann discussed recent changes to the county’s tax policy. For one, the county reduced both its real and tangible property tax rates in August as part of a reorganization of its revenue streams away from property tax, which the county has historically been more reliant upon than neighboring jurisdictions.
“65% of our revenue was generated from our property taxes,” Knochelmann said. “… We were actually able to continue to drop our property tax, and that’s now going to be a total of 51% of our revenue.”
The county had also reduced its payroll tax in November after an increase that began at the beginning of 2023, which proved unpopular among some local officials. November’s reduction also eliminated the county’s net profits tax on businesses. Knochelmann credited the work of Kenton County Treasurer Roy Cox with the math behind the policy changes.
“His estimates were darn near on the money,” Knochelmann said.
Knochelmann predicted that the county could continue to reduce its property tax rates in the future, although payroll tax rates were unlikely to change.
The judge/executive then discussed the services provided by the county, such as the animal shelter, detention center and dispatch center.
He also discussed various economic ventures the county had done in Covington. These included the donation of the land on which the new Covington City Hall will be built, the relocation of the Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky, and various economic incentives the county had implemented in an effort to draw jobs and businesses to Covington.
Finally, he showcased various economic projects occurring in and around the city, such as projects related to the Brent Spence Bridge project, the OneNKY Center, which will house a new life sciences lab, and SparkHaus, which aims to help local startups and entrepreneurs get on their feet.
“None of this happens without cooperation,” Knohcelmann said about the OneNKY Center, reiterating a theme he’d brought up throughout his speech. “State, elected officials, city officials, organizations, boards who had to vote on this to move sites and plan to rent space to develop a community asset; it’s something we should continue to celebrate.”
Knochelmann took questions after his speech.
Steve Brunson of Rainstar Capital Group asked about affordable housing, referencing discussions about workforce housing from meetings of the NKY Chamber of Commerce.
“How do you define workforce housing?” Brunson asked. “… What do you see, or what do you think we need when you talk about workforce housing?”
“Well, first of all, number one is we need more housing, period,” Knochelmann said, referencing a recent housing study from the Northern Kentucky Area Development District, which demonstrated the lack of housing options for the region’s workforce, among other things.
That study defined workforce housing as households whose wages ranged from $15 to $25 an hour, with monthly housing costs between $500 and $1,500. The region needs about 3,000 more housing units to provide for people within that income range, according to the study.
Knochelmann said that market mechanisms on their own would probably not address the problem fully. He encouraged everyone to read the housing study and educate themselves. He said that holistically dealing with the problems would be a challenge and that communities had to collectively decide how to tackle the housing situations within their own boundaries.
“It’s needed, and it’s a challenge where we got to be open to all the ideas,” Knochelmann said. “I think everything’s on the table.”