City of Covington v. Kenton County

Opinion of the Court by

Justice GRAVES.

In July 1978 and pursuant to KRS 68.197(1), Appellee, Kenton County, adopted Ordinance 78-6-1 which levied an occupational license fee of 0.4% on the first $25,000 of an individual’s gross income ($100 maximum fee) and the first $37,500 of a business’s net profits ($150 maximum fee). The resolution framed the ballot question as “whether a license fee shall be imposed at a percentage not to exceed one per cent,” and purported that the fiscal court could in the, future change the rates within statutory limits without submission to the voters. 1 The voters…