WQXE News

Ownership fees for electric vehicles in Kentucky will see a 5 percent increase as the new year begins.

The Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet says beginning January 1 legislation that increases the electric vehicle ownership fee and separate legislation that eliminates the ownership fee for hybrid vehicles went into effect. The new annual ownership fees will be $126 for electric vehicles, $126 for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, $63 for electric motorcycles, and $0 for hybrid vehicles. The fees will be included on owners’ vehicle renewal reminder notices and integrated with the Kentucky Automated Vehicle Information System.

The KFAC says the Kentucky General Assembly approved the ownership fees “to ensure road construction and maintenance fees were shared fairly between Kentucky’s electric-vehicle and gas-vehicle drivers.” The fees are directed into the state’s Road Fund which pays for road construction, maintenance, engineering, planning and research, and administrative functions. The fees are meant to make up for the taxes on gasoline that go into the Road Fund that electric vehicle drivers do not pay.

The KFAC says there are more than 132,000 registered hybrid vehicles, just under 20,000 electric vehicles, more than 9,000 plug-in hybrid vehicles, and about 200 electric motorcycles currently registered in the state.

More information on Kentucky’s electric vehicle infrastructure can be found at kyevcharging.com.

If you are in need of assistance with wrapping up your last-minute Christmas gifts, help is available this weekend with Empowered Life.

“We are doing a gift wrap fundraiser,” said Empowered Life President Christi Schovel. “We’re asking anyone who needs gifts wrapped to come to 225 College Street. We’re just right down the road from the police station in the Project Learn building, and we will wrap their gifts for them for a donation.”

All proceeds from the gift wrapping will go towards the cost of activities and expenses for the organization.

“We provide enrichment and social and life skills to individuals with intellectual disabilities, high school-age and older,” Shovel said

The gift wrapping fundraiser runs from 1 to 6 p.m. on Saturday, December 21. Contact Schovel for more information on the organization.

The Hardin County Fiscal Court met for their final meeting of the year Thursday afternoon.

Hardin County Sheriff John Ward reported that his office made 193 arrests and issued 176 citations in October and November. When discussing his office’s budget request for calendar year 2025, Ward said the county’s supplement for the budget is the same as last year.

“Our revenue will increase through the fees, but the judge asked us to hold it at the same contribution rate, supplement rate that the court did last year,” Ward said.

Hardin County Clerk Brian D. Smith recounted some of his office’s accomplishments in 2024 including opening the branch office in Radcliff, securing more than $300,000 in state grant funding, and working through the rollout of a new state vehicle registration system. Smith also made his office’s budget request for calendar year 2025.

“In my first year’s budget, we requested $2.51 million, which represented a cut of $76,000 from 2023,” Smith said. “This year we’re coming in a little higher than last year with a request of $2.515 million, representing a cut of over $71,000 from 2023. We think that’s the fiscally responsible thing to do.”

Resolutions for both budget requests were approved, along with a resolution amending the sheriff’s office’s 2024 calendar year budget to balance line items.

At the beginning of the meeting, Hardin County Judge/Executive Keith Taul asked for a moment of silence for the families of county residents impacted by drug overdose deaths in 2024. During magistrate comments, Magistrate Aaron Pennington encouraged anybody struggling with addiction to take advantage of available resources.

“We do offer services to try to help, and we have information out there with (Hardin County Quick Response Team Coordinator) Justin Blair, and we just want to keep pounding that out there so people understand that we are providing, and we are trying to provide, more resources for people to get help,” Pennington said.

The Hardin County Fiscal Court will next meet January 14.