Fayette PVA’s blame game

The reaction of Fayette County Property Valuation Administrator David O’Neill since his debacle on agricultural land assessment has been comical. He has known for some time that PVAs in mixed urban-rural counties have required proof for land alleged to be for true agricultural purposes.

The PVA circle in Kentucky is only 120 people, and he had to have known, long before the Herald-Leader exposed this huge inequity, how the others required legitimate documentation and how they more accurately interpreted outdated legislation to reflect actual use of the land.

O’Neill’s blaming the loss of millions in tax revenue for schools, infrastructure, parks and other uses on vague and outdated legislation is a joke. He knew all along that significant tax breaks were going to the ones who did not need them and who could contribute the most to his re-election.

It is clearly time for a new PVA who is not giving tax breaks to the wealthy and developers while requiring the rest of us to pay more than our fair share.

This story was originally published March 22, 2016 at 7:43 PM with the headline "Fayette PVA’s blame game."