On July 22, 2022, the City of Maysville Commission decided that “large-scale SES are prohibited within the incorporated limits of the City of Maysville, Kentucky” with a three-to-two vote.
This prohibition rejected the potential for significant additional (~ $ $600/acre/year) outside income flowing into Maysville’s economy and increased real estate property tax revenue to all county’s tax districts.
The prohibition was justified, in part, because very little of the city’s revenue comes from real estate property taxes. That justification ignores the history that large-scale solar installations frequently make substantial annual payments to cities that help them minimize state property tax bills.
The decision to prohibit large-scale solar without any other significant new revenue has led to the need for a 33% (0.075 to 0.1) increase in the Occupation License Tax by the Maysville City Commission. That increase imposes additional financial stress on Maysville residents.
City Commissioners would better serve Maysville by recruiting, not prohibiting large-scale solar.
Citizens should demand solar regulations patterned on the Kentucky Model Solar Ordinance. By doing so, we can achieve the following:
- Protects our topsoil for future generations.
- Reduces chemical pollution in local watersheds.
- Generate an additional $64 million to replace lost tobacco and dairy income
- Increase the number of local high-value job opportunities.
- Increase the real estate tax base to support local services.
- Don’t add a long-term burden to local infrastructure.
- Safeguard the land from encroaching urbanization
- Generate Payments in Lieu of Taxes to local municipalities