FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Records show Kentucky’s Republican governor is late paying his 2016 property taxes on his Louisville home.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office website shows Gov. Matt Bevin owes $11,080 on his Barberry Lane home in Louisville, which has an assessed value of nearly $700,000. The bill includes a 10 percent penalty because it wasn’t paid by Jan. 31. The original tax bill was due Dec. 31. It increased by 5 percent in January and 10 percent on Feb. 1.
The website shows the bill has not been paid as of Wednesday afternoon. Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Chief Financial Officer Teri Geraghty noted the website’s records are one day behind.
A spokeswoman for Bevin did not respond to a request for comment. The news was first reported by WDRB-TV and comes on the day Bevin is scheduled to deliver his annual State of the Commonwealth address to a joint session of the Kentucky General Assembly.
The news also comes after Bevin called Jefferson County Public Schools an “unmitigated disaster” on a Louisville talk radio show Wednesday morning, according to the Courier-Journal. The school district is supported in part by property taxes.
This isn’t the first time Bevin has had problems paying his taxes. During his campaign for governor, Democrats unearthed records showing Bevin was late paying his personal and business property taxes 30 times over a period of several years. Bevin, a wealthy investment manager, owns all or part of 10 companies.
At the time, Bevin acknowledged he was late paying his taxes but noted he had always paid them in full.
Democrats also criticized him for refusing to release his personal income tax returns, a tradition that most governors have followed.
Geraghty said between 70 percent and 80 percent of homeowners in Jefferson County pay their taxes on time through their mortgage companies. She said many others often pay their bills by Dec. 1 to take advantage of a discount. Of the more than 293,000 tax bills issued in November, Geraghty said about 20,000 have not yet been paid.
Taxpayers provide the governor with an 18,428 square feet Governor’s Mansion, built in 1914 and just steps away from the Kentucky Capitol. Bevin, along with his wife and nine children, has kept the home in Louisville. It’s unclear where the Bevins spend most of their time.
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