RICHMOND —
About a dozen people braced gusting winds Saturday to stand in front of the Madison County Courthouse and give their message to anyone who showed up.
Their mission? To protest recent tax hikes by the county’s taxing authorities.
Signs, which two of the protesters held up for passing drivers to see, read “Madison County Schools don’t care about your children. They care only about $$$ and power,” and “The Tax Man Cometh.”
The tax rally was organized by a newly formed group, “The Madison County Tax Watch,” said Tiffany Nash, one of the group’s members. It has existed now for a little more than a week and has 65 members on Facebook.
“We all need to be watching over our local officials,” Nash said.
The group intends to monitor all taxing authorities, and have at least one member at each meeting of those entities, she said.
The City of Richmond, the Madison County Ambulance Board, and the Madison County School Board all raised taxes this year.
But conversation at the rally mostly focused on the school board, which in September approved a property tax of up to 58.3 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, up from 56.4 cents.
Last year, the board realized a $750,000 surplus, and divided it among employees in the form of bonuses.
Jim Ramsay, a Richmond resident for several years and member of the tax watch group, said if the board had done something useful with the money, he would not be upset.
“It’s their divvying it up and then asking for more,” he said. “That’s what I have a problem with.”
Many teachers and others who work in the schools also are upset, Ramsay said.
“They don’t like how the schools are being run,” he said.
Some of the computer labs cannot even be used because they are so out-of-date, Ramsay said, adding that he is sure a lot of teachers would rather have updated labs than bonuses.
“Or their nurses back,” he said. The board earlier this year reduced the number of nurses in the school system because of financial considerations.
Group members also say they do not agree with the board’s action earlier this year in funding the attendance of 50 people, including school board members, at the Kentucky Association of School Administrators conference in Louisville.
Most school districts, including Fayette and Jefferson counties, sent no one to the meeting, school board member John Lackey told the Register in September. Madison County had the largest delegation in attendance, Lackey said, with the next largest delegation numbering 13. Lackey was the sole board member to vote against the tax increase.
People need to be aware of what is going on, and realize the taxing authorities work for the citizens, not the other way around, Nash said.
“We’re going to keep doing what we need to do to reach as many people as we can, through Facebook, the newspaper or whatever else we can think of,” she said. “We have to do something.”
Perhaps the group’s third sign, a plain piece of cardboard stuck in the ground in front of the courthouse, summed up the group’s purpose.
It read simply, “Your basic protest sign.”
The Madison County Tax Watch plans to meet again in about a week. The group has a Facebook page and is in the process of constructing a website, which will be at madisoncountytaxwatch.com.
Kelly McKinney can be reached at kmckinney@richmondregister.com or 624-6694.
Local News
Related Photos
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Sam Deakins of Richmond displays his sign to motorists along West Main Street during the Tax Protest Rally on Saturday. The other side of the sign says, “The Taxman Cometh . . . And He Cometh For You, Clown!!” Photo by Nancy Taggart/photo@richmondregister.com
Group rallies against tax hikes
Protesters gather for rally
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