As people around the world look forward to the New Year, Executive Judge Al Mattingly said he was pleased with the way 2021 has unfolded for Daviess Fiscal Court.

Looking back on the past year, Mattingly said on Wednesday that one of the things he was most pleased with was that the county was able to lower the tax on insurance premiums.

“This was put in place in 2009 to pay for the county portion of the convention center, and we will complete this reduction in the coming year,” he said. “When you are able to lower people’s taxes, it is always a good thing. “

Mattingly said the tax court raised the tax rate on insurance premiums from 4.9% to 8.9% in 2009, and lowered it to 7.2% this year.

“Then we’ll go from 7.2% to 4.9%, and 4.9% is what it always was,” Mattingly said.

Mattingly said being able to present the people of Daviess County with a balanced budget that gets close scrutiny by listeners is another thing he’s proud of.

Regarding construction projects, Mattingly said the improvements to Horse Fork Creek Park are particularly satisfactory.

Located at 3005 Fairview Drive, the park has grown in recent years, adding a spray park, all-inclusive play area, and permanent restrooms.

Mattingly said the additions to the park were made in stages, the most recent being the washrooms.

“These particular sanitary facilities are close to the greenbelt and are open year round for people who use the greenbelt, as well as the spray park and the playground for all,” he said. . “I think it was really something we were very happy with.”

While the COVID-19 pandemic continued throughout 2021, an important development this year regarding the pandemic has been the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.

Mattingly said the county has been doing everything possible to keep community members informed of updates on the pandemic and vaccines.

“We’ve had a lot of live Facebook sessions, almost weekly, getting people talking about the pandemic, the vaccine,” Mattingly said. “I don’t know what else we could have done without completely locking everything down, and I don’t think anyone wanted that.”

Mattingly said that before the vaccine rolled out this year, the best tools the public had to protect themselves from the pandemic were masks, social distancing and frequent hand washing. But now that has changed.

“I am disappointed that more people have not taken advantage of the vaccine and the boosters,” he said. “No matter what you say, the number one defense is the vaccine.”

As the new year arrives and Mattingly enters the final year of his tenure as executive judge, he said he wanted to continue making progress on projects the tax court was working on.

“The most important goal would be to have a balanced budget again and to determine how the CARES law money the county has received will be spent,” he said. “We’re trying to figure out how best to spend this money and spend it where it will have a long-term or lasting effect on the county, making sure that we don’t do anything that would create a burden for the next tax court or the citizens of Daviess County, which means that we are not using this one-time money for recurring expenses.

Mattingly, who has been elected executive judge since 2010, announced in July that he would not run for a fourth term.

Nathan Havenner, Messenger-Inquirer, [email protected], 270-228-2837