Florence property owners are set to pay a lower combined tax rate in 2026 after the City Council votes on the final reading of its annual tax ordinance Sept. 1.

The council's special meeting begins at 6 p.m. at the Florence Government Center, 8100 Ewing Blvd. The main agenda item is the second reading of Ordinance O-21-2026, which sets the city's rates on real estate, personal property, franchises and the police/fire pension fund for the coming tax year.

The proposed real property rate holds steady at $0.187 per $100 of assessed value, projected to bring in about $7 million. The personal property rate would drop to $0.226 per $100 from $0.239 in 2025, generating roughly $1.9 million, based on figures presented at an Aug. 18 public hearing.

The rates have not changed.

If approved, the combined rate would be lower than what Florence property owners paid in 2025. That would extend a streak: at the council's Sept. 23, 2025, business meeting, Mayor Julie Aubuchon called the 2025 reduction the second consecutive year of cuts, the first back-to-back decrease since 2003–2004, according to meeting minutes.

Finance Director Jason Lewis, who presented the proposed rates at the Aug. 18 meeting, noted the real property rate of $0.187 exceeds the state-calculated compensating rate of $0.173. Kentucky law requires a public hearing before a city can adopt a rate above that threshold. That hearing took place Aug. 18.

Councilmember Diane Whalen cautioned at that meeting that lower rates do not always mean lower bills. When property assessments rise enough, she said, individual tax bills can still increase even as the rate falls.

The ordinance also includes a special assessment for police and fire pension costs. At the Aug. 18 meeting, Aubuchon told the council Florence is "the only city in the state permitted to collect this tax," the NKY Tribune reported.

Before the tax vote, the council will administer the oath of office to Haley Ransler, the Florence Police Department's new corporal.

The meeting will be streamed live on the city's YouTube channel. The next regular business meeting is scheduled for Sept. 8. Residents with questions can call the city at 859-647-8177.