At a first reading for property tax rates for fiscal year 2026-27, Ludlow Mayor Sarah Thompson presented three options.
Property taxes are broken down into several categories. The first and usually largest chunk of your tax bill is real property tax, sometimes referred to as real estate property tax. This is essentially a tax on everything you own that’s nailed down. For residents, this means houses and other real estate property. For businesses, this means office buildings and other buildings and facilities used to conduct business.
Tangible personal property, on the other hand, is another form of property that isn’t real estate. Depending on where you live, residents may not be taxed on personal property at all–this will vary by jurisdiction.
Depending on where you live, other tax-adjacent fees may apply.
How do property taxes work?
Three different tax ordinances appeared on the agenda for the city’s Sept. 10 council meeting. The options were:
- Take the compensating rate only, resulting in .501 per $100 of real property and 1.519 per $100 of personal and mixed property per assessed value.
- Take the compensating rate plus a 2% increase, resulting in .511 per $100 of real property and 1.549 per $100 of personal and mixed property per assessed value.
- Take the compensating rate plus a 4% increase, resulting in .521 per $100 of real property and 1.579 per $100 of personal and mixed property per assessed value.
Thompson said she included three different proposed ordinances to follow the Kentucky Open Meetings Act and ensure full public policy discussion in a public forum.
“I wanted the substantive discussion and deliberation over which tax rate the city should adopt to occur with council convened as a body in an open public meeting, rather than discussions outside the meeting,” Thompson said.
Ludlow will hold a public hearing to discuss tax rates on Sept. 24, at 7 p.m. in the Ludlow Municipal Center.