Crime is down, plus Council splits over Frankfort's push to centralize municipal occupational fee collection
Also, City ready to clear more snow
Council Briefs
After the prayer, the pledge of allegiance, and the adoption of the last meeting’s minutes, Council tore through its agenda in under 35 minutes.
In that time, we learned that crime is down, the City is ready for clearing snowy streets — again — and talk of handing over to Frankfort any occupational fees collected locally has divided Council.
Crime trending downward
Berea Police Chief Jason Hays told Council that due in part to proactive policing, crime has dropped by 35% in Berea since 2021. In 2024, there were 402 crimes committed in town compared with 620 crimes committed in 2021. The trend was consistent in 2022 and 2023 with 539 and 458 crimes committed respectively.
Most crimes in Berea are “part II” crimes such as assault, driving under the influence, and fraud, among other offenses, according to Hays. Thefts are also common crimes in town, he said.
In other statistics Hays shared, Berea police answered 19,056 calls for service in 2024 — about 52 per day — compared with 20,203 in 2023. Patrol officers also have been consistent in the volume of citations they issue annually, averaging in the mid-1,800s over the past three years.
Collisions in town for 2024 numbered 488, 43 of which included injuries. There were two fatalities. The top three locations for collisions were I-75 with 84 accidents both north- and southbound. Chestnut Street had 50, and Walnut Meadow had 37. Hays also noted that the Wal-Mart parking lot also rated highly in number of collisions.
AI traffic cams
Speed is often a factor in collisions, Hays said, saying that 233 speeding tickets were issued by Berea police in 2024. Data from the City’s nine Flock cameras — an AI-assisted camera system used by law enforcement to read license plates and identify “hot” vehicles — has been “skewed” according to Hays, but his department is training officers to enter data so results will be more consistent.
The cameras, Hays said, have helped locate two stolen vehicles, issue four warrants, and make six arrests.
Hays also apprised Council of the force’s upcoming fire arms training in the spring, and has recently completed Taser and CPR training. Berea Police will also partner with the tourism and parks departments to present the Special Needs Ball.
Hays said that his department has also been preparing for re-accreditation from the Kentucky Association of Chiefs of Police. Berea’s force has been accredited since 2006, Hays said, and added that this will be the fifth accreditation cycle for the department and that he expects it to be reaccredited.
Local vs. central
Talk in Frankfort of centralizing the collection and disbursement of occupational license fees, rather than allowing the status quo of local municipalities determining, collecting, and applying them divided the Council.
In response to House Bill 253 now making its way through the state’s General Assembly, the City drafted Resolution 04-2025, a prolix statement of defiance against centralization that declares such taxation in Kentucky is “best accomplished at the local level by professionals who have local experience and local knowledge of our communities…”
The resolution predicts that the new plan “would be detrimental, ineffective, and would have a severely adverse effect on the fiscal condition and economic development of Berea.”
In giving the ordinance’s first reading, City attorney Jerry Gilbert concluded with, “Now therefore, be resolved that the city of Berea strongly opposes the adoption of any bills into law, in whole or in part, by the Kentucky General Assembly, that provides for the mandated centralized collection of local occupational license fees or taxes, and urges all members of the General Assembly to vote against proposals of this nature.”
The resolution passed with councilmembers Cora Jane Wilson, Teresa Scenters, John Payne, and Steve Davis voting in favor and councilmembers Ronnie Terrill and Jerry Little voting against. Councilmembers Steve Caudill and Katie Startzman were absent.
During the public comment section of the meeting, resident John Eipert, who identified himself as a certified public accountant, expressed his disappointment in Council’s resolution to kibosh centralization, saying that Kentucky’s current taxation system was antiquated and inefficient. Incidentally, he told Council that after reviewing several year’s of the City’s budget audit, he found some mistakes.
Proponents of the bill in Frankfort say centralizing local taxation will streamline collection and make paying easier for businesses in the state.
Watch this space…
Additional ordinances
There was also the first reading of Ordinance 02-2025 to amend the City’s fiscal year 2025 budget to reflect amendments made in 2024.
Additionally, Council heard the first reading of Ordinance 03-2025 to change the zoning of Councilmember Jerry Little’s property at 599 Richmond Rd. North from multi-family residential, to “major business district”. And Ordinance 01-2025 to let Metronet continue providing internet services in town, was adopted by a unanimous voice vote.
Lastly, Interim City Administrator Shawn Sandlin told Council that the City’s team of first responders, utility workers, and road crews are ready for the storm and will respond to residents who call in need of assistance.
The next regularly scheduled meeting is Tuesday, March 4, 6:30 PM. Meetings are held at the City Building Annex at 304 Chestnut Street. You can watch regularly scheduled meetings on the City’s YouTube channel under the “Live” tab.
Update, February 19, 2025, 12:04 pm: The voting for Resolution 04-2025 was originally misreported. It has been corrected. The Edge is deeply sorry for the error.