Written by Geoff Besecker – Campbell County Commissioner
Living in Grant’s Lick for the past number of decades has been a true blessing. My wife Toni and I raised our 4 boys here and we are both retired educators having served a combined 60+ years in Campbell County Schools. Together we spend quite a bit of time volunteering with the school district pouring into the children who will soon be leading the way in this wonderful county. Recently, we also founded the Campbell County Education Foundation to help fund unique and innovative curricular programs for teachers and students, and we are providing scholarships to students who wish to pursue a path after high school that requires some type of post-secondary education.
Before retiring from teaching, I was elected to the Fiscal Court as one of the three County Commissioners. Running for this seat provided a way to continue serving this community that I deeply love. While the duties of a County Commissioner are quite different from those of a high school educator, one similarity remains: Work with families and residents to help make this community the best place to live, work, play, and raise a family. Over the past decade, I have worked alongside my colleagues on the Campbell County Fiscal Court to ensure the goal of keeping our community moving forward is at the top of my list. While I realize every decision does not always find favor with everyone, decisions that are made come with the foundational principal outlined in the idea of leaving Campbell County in a better place for our children and the future.
During my time on the Fiscal Court, I have worked to reduce the tax burden on both residents and business owners. No one, including my family and me, revels in paying taxes, but it is the stream of revenue that provides services to our community. When we receive our “county tax bill” in late fall, that amount owed is split up among many taxing agencies including the state, schools, and fire districts, among others. The Fiscal Court receives approximately 13 cents of each dollar of the total bill while the other 87% is divvied out to the other agencies previously mentioned. And, as you know, that tax bill is a result of the property valuation as outlined not by the county, but in state law which requires that properties must be valued at the fair market value. Further, for example, a $315,000 house in Campbell County pays approximately $480/year to the Fiscal Court. That works out to about $1.33/day. Of course, those monies are used to maintain roads, fund a full-service jail, provide policing, invest in and maintain a vibrant and growing park system, provide senior services, maintain dispatch services for first responders, and fund other services we rely on as residents. To compare that daily expenditure to my “garbage” service bill, for example, my family pays about $1.06 per day for a service that visits once a week and spends 30 seconds at my house. To compare that to our neighboring counties of Kenton and Boone, while those residents pay less than us in property taxes as a rule, many factors contribute to that difference. Of course revenue from industry, commercial businesses, and population…all things that help to reduce tax rates but also come with other issues that residents must deal with including more significant congestion, increased traffic issues, noise, etc. All things that many of our residents would rather do without. Even though our county (and mostly in the incorporated cities) is growing, the growth is nowhere near our neighbors to the west.
Something our county residents do appreciate is our county parks. While serving on the Fiscal Court, it has been a pleasure to be part of the decision making team to improve our county parks like at no time in our County’s history. The Fiscal Court has made, and continues to make, significant investments in amenities like new bath and shower houses, the repaving of all the walking trails, investing in new play equipment for all children including those with physical and cognitive challenges, improving camping sites, providing paddle and kayak rental opportunities, a new boat ramp, and blanketing almost the entire 1000 acres with high speed Wi-Fi. Currently, we are undertaking a major lake renovation project that will improve the health of the lake and the stability of the spillway at the dam providing decades of continued enjoyment by patrons who enjoy the park and its many amenities. With my colleagues, I will look to continue to improve on A.J. Jolly Park; the largest county park in the state.
Additionally, there has been a recent and major initiative to provide public water to approximately 100 more homes in Campbell County. This has allowed families to get away from relying on a cistern or needing to haul water. This increased service has also allowed farmers to continue agribusiness without those similar burdens. And, the Fiscal Court recently helped in formulating an arrangement between Pendleton County Water and the Northern Kentucky Water District that will soon bring greater water access to many residents who currently are without that service. My family knows firsthand what it means to not have access to public water as we operate on a cistern and don’t know when that might change. Speaking of utilities, the Fiscal Court also partnered with altaFiber to bring high speed fiber internet to every home in Campbell County. This has been a game changer for families whose internet was quite suspect in terms of speed and reliability just a couple of years ago. Now families have 21st century internet service for school work, tele-health services, entertainment, work from home capabilities not to mention great opportunity for in home businesses. Additionally over the past decade, the Fiscal Court has invested resources like never before in our roadways through maintenance, repaving, installing shaft pier walls to reduce slipping of hillsides, and plowing/salting during the winter months.
Speaking of roadways, I know that traffic congestion is on the mind of many in our community. It has been the regular practice of county leadership to work with local, regional, and state organizations to obtain resources and service projects that will ultimately provide relief to motorists like you and I. We are regularly at meetings of OKI (the regional council of governments) and the state capitol in Frankfort working with legislative leadership to secure funds for roadway improvements and expansion right here in Campbell County. While the wheels of government often turn slowly, one example where we have made significant progress for funding of alternate routes is State Route 536 which will eventually help eliminate congestion through Alexandria.
The above outlines just some of the recent achievements of the current Fiscal Court. While much has been accomplished over my time as County Commissioner, there is more work to be done. And, the formula is quite simple…be a good steward of tax payers’ money, maintain safety and order for our residents, provide services and opportunities for families to enjoy, and leave this place better than I found it. I truly look forward to serving on the Campbell County Fiscal Court for the next 4+ years. Helping to make our community the best it can be motivates me to serve you and your family.