Knox Fiscal Court hears ATV, postal concerns

County Clerk reports third-party tax purchasers becoming growing trend

By Samantha Swindler / Managing Editor

Presentations by two audience members took up the bulk of the Knox County Fiscal Court meeting Tuesday.

Matt Sosh, representing the American Postal Workers Union, spoke to the court about plans to move mail sorting from London to Lexington — a move he said could add days to the time it takes to deliver locally-circulating mail.

The Postal Service is currently conducting a mail processing study to determine if it would be economically feasible to move outgoing mail processing from London to Lexington. Locally-circulating mail, which Sosh said makes up the majority of mail sent in this area, would be shipped to Lexington before being returned to London for delivery. Saturday mail is currently processed in Lexington, and Sosh said it takes days longer to be delivered.

“What the post office is proposing is to give you the same shoddy service you’re getting on Saturdays throughout the entire week... in an effort to save money,” he said.

He also said that 15-20 jobs could be cut at the London facility with the change, though there won’t be any layoffs.

“We have a no-layoff clause in our contract, but in lieu of that, there is a system in place of reassigning employees to other facilities if they are deemed they are no longer needed where they were originally hired at,” he said.

Union members are trying to meet with U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers about the issue, but have yet to speak with the congressman. Sosh asked the fiscal court to consider writing the U.S. Postal Service if they were opposed to the move.

The court asked several questions of Sosh but took no formal action after his presentation.

Knox County resident Jackie Napier presented fiscal court members with a nine-page report she wrote titled “Reducing health care costs, injuries and deaths associated with all-terrain vehicle use in Kentucky.”

She proposed the creation of safe riding trails, a state-wide mandatory driver training program and greater law enforcement to curb the dangerous misuse of ATVs.

“As a registered nurse working in the ER, I have seen children and young adults come in broken, mutilated and dead,” she wrote. “I have watched parents fall to their knees when told their child would never walk again or would be a vegetable for the rest of their life.”

Much of Napier’s concern was for children and teens handling ATVs recklessly and without supervision. She said she wasn’t trying to infringe upon the rights of ATV drivers, but to address issues of safety. She said she has written Lieutenant Gov. Dan Mongiardo about her concerns. Judge-Executive J.M. Hall asked Napier to keep the court informed on any discussions with Mongiardo, but took no action on her proposal.

In other business, the court approved the delinquent tax report for October. In that month, $306,503.14 in delinquent taxes were collected — most of that from firms who purchased citizens’ outstanding debts.

County Clerk Mike Corey explained that collection agencies are allowed by law to pay off residents’ property tax debts to the counties and thus “buy” taxpayers’ bills. The property owners then owe money to the companies, which can charge up to 12 percent interest on the debt and can hold a lien on the property to force payment.

“I’ve been county clerk for 11 years, and the first nine years it wasn’t a problem,” Corey said. But in the last few years, as CD interest rates have dropped dramatically, purchasing tax bills has become an easier way for companies to make a bigger investment return.

“I know it’s creating some hardships on some people... but when that, occurs the third-party purchaser holds the same lien that the county does. The county can’t take their money (for payment on taxes). We can’t do a lot to assist them,” Corey said. “I know these are tough economic times, I know there’s some people struggling during these bad economic times, but when you get one of these purchasers, it’s a real serious matter... We just hope our citizens realize how serious it is, and if they do have a problem with taxes, they might want to contact the county attorney and see if they can make some kind of payment and get their taxes under control before this occurs.”

The court also approved a revised joint resolution with Bell County that will allow Knox to receive an additional $250,000 in multi-county coal severance money to be used for the Robert Stivers II Rural Wellness Initiative Center project in Barbourville. The original resolution recognized a $500,000 grant from the Kentucky Department of Local Governments; since it was passed, the court learned they would instead be receiving $750,000 for the project.

They also approved advertising for construction bids to repair Leo Hampton Bridge, which is “so bad” the county won’t drive school buses over it.