Delinquient 941 Taxes for Five Years are Falling on Present Administration to Pay

The Owsley County Fiscal Court met in regular session on Monday, September 11, 2023. The meeting was called to order by County Judge Executive Zeke Little. He asked that everyone stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Then Austin Reed, son of Jason Reed Magistrate District #2, led the group in prayer asking God to give the court the guidance to make the right decisions for the county. After the prayer, Jason asked the judge if we could observe a moment of silence in remembrance of the 9-11 victims and families. The judge agreed and the moment was observed.
Judge Little gave the Treasurer's Report. He said the magistrates had a copy of what was in the bank. He went on to explain that they have had to spend some money but they have finally received some money from FEMA. Judge Little stated that the LGEA has a cash balance of $79,000.00, Solid Waste has a cash balance of $36,847.00, Parks & Recs has a cash balance of $6,900.00, LG EDF has $897.00, ARPA has a cash balance of $59,000.00, Jail Fund has a cash balance of $39,000.00, The General Fund has a cash balance o $146,000.00, Opioid Fund has a cash balance of $48,000.00, the Storage Fund has cash balance of $6,7000.00, the Road Fund has a cash balance of $1,099,000.00, EKSAFE has cash balance of $267,000.00 and the LEPC has cash balance of $13,396.00. Judge Little stated that the problems will hopefully be fixed by the next meeting. A motion was made and carried to accept what was given in the report. A motion was made and carried to accept the reading of the minutes from last month's report.
The 941 Taxes were discussed. This is federal taxes that have late fees and penalties against them. “We owe the federal government $70,000.00.” explained Judge Little. “This was for 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and some in 2022. We have called and tried to get a Penalty Forgiveness and they said that Owsley County had already gotten a Penalty Forgiveness once and they can not grant another one. We are stuck owing this $70,000.00 for possibly making late payments. This is for the late fees and penalties. Judge Little stated that it is accumulating daily. They are supposed to send someone out to talk to us about it and when they do, Judge Little suggested paying it then so that it is not passed on to another court to pay. A motion was made and carried to give the judge permission to write a check for the amount that is owed after talking to them.
There has been a request made to close the last 400 feet of Joe Dunn Lane. This will be on the agenda for the next meeting so that we can discuss it again. Anyone that has anything to say about this is encouraged to attend the October meeting.
The old part of the roof at the courthouse is almost finished. The newer part should be done in a couple of days weather permitting. We will be reimbursed about 52% of the costs. We will send them the canceled checks and they will send us a check for the reimbursement amount.
Cassie Hudson told Judge Little that they need enough funds to build one more house for the flood victims of 2022. She told him that they have run out of money and f anyone would like to donate, please get in touch with Cassie Hudson at Partnership Housing by calling (606) 593-8242. This is the last house that we need to get done for the flood victims.
Solid Waste is staying afloat for now. They are having some troubles with one of the trucks. It had a rear end go out and that cost us about $4,000.00 and I (Judge Little) ordered a roll-up tarp for the roll off, which was around $5,000.00. This will keep the worker from climbing up and down to roll up the tarp. There is a new concrete pad poured at the garage to park the trucks on. It looks a lot better than it used to.
The group helping with Pioneer Village asked the judge to mention that they are going to have a meeting on Tuesday, September 19th at 6 p.m. at the REC Center. This meeting is open for anyone that wants to attend.
Each member of the court received a copy of the Foreman's Report. We are doing a lot of FEMA work and we have gotten some FEMA money. We have 5 men to cover the entire county. If the garbage men miss your garbage, please call the judge's office so that someone can be sent out to get it.
A motion was made and carried to do transfers as needed. A motion was made and carried to pay all legally incurred bills. A motion was made and carried to approve putting the road back on the map as a county road that goes up the Right Hand Fork of Sugar Camp to the old Joe Smith Homestead. A motion was made and carried to adjourn the meeting.