President’s Message

In December of last year I was formally installed as the League of Kentucky Property Owners’ third President and began my term January 1, 2004. Throughout the past five years it has been an honor and pleasure to serve the League as a general member, political consultant and director of the board. During this time we have realized many tremendous accomplishments together, accomplishments which have clearly slowed the intrusion of onerous new land use regulations designed to restrict our freedom.

As your new president, I pledge that the League will continue its epic struggle over property rights with a renewed vigor. As Americans, we have been charged with the awesome responsibility of defending freedom by opposing tyranny both foreign and domestic. Unfortunately, we sometimes forget that the most dangerous form of tyranny usually finds root in our own backyard.

Accordingly, I contend that elitist planning and restrictive environmental regulations which grant endangered species more rights than humans are in fact domestic tyranny, not because we should ignore responsible stewardship, but fundamentally because power is transferred away from the People and to the centralized authority. In fact, I couldn’t agree more with the ominous warning of America’s founding father James Madison:

It is proper to take alarm at the first experiment on our liberties. We hold this prudent jealousy to be the first duty of citizens, and one of the noblest characteristics of the late Revolution. The freeman of America did not wait till usurped power had strengthened itself by exercise, and entangled the question in precedents. They saw all the consequences in the principle, and they avoided the consequences by denying the principle.

Indeed we must take heed to follow Madison’s advice in all aspects of our citizenship, lest we lose our rights silently, over time, simply because we failed to respond.

With that said, I ask that you personally respond with your membership renewal for 2004 as a form of support for the freedom we all share a burden in safeguarding. Our fundamental rights have been attacked on all fronts, even much more so than in the early days of our nation under the rule of King George. If we are to continue the successes we have worked together to achieve during the past eight years, we must each make bold new concessions in our daily lives by offering a sacrifice of our time, talent or treasure to defend freedom.

I realize this will be a difficult call to arms for many, especially considering the myriad of sacrifices we have already made during the past few years. But today more than ever, our League needs you to stand in the gap for the cause of liberty. America’s soldiers come in many different uniforms – some are accountants, business owners, investment brokers and salespeople; others are farmers, factory workers, homemakers and teachers. Whatever your calling, please know the League shares with you the first duty of all citizens. Together we can help restore our Republic to the beacon of light and hope it once was.

Sincerely,
Brett Gaspard,
League President 2004

League Activity & Successes

Introduced and achieved passage of both state and local Right-to-Farm Acts.

Working with several groups, defeated the monstrous Conservation & Reinvestment Act (CARA) – a massive federal spending bill which would have locked up millions of acres of private land to public use. This would have cost us billions.

Established strong support for our Property Rights Protection Act in the State Legislature and was the first organization to oppose statewide planning and zoning in conjunction with Take Back Kentucky during the 1990s.

Prevented adoption of sweeping new planning regulations aimed at transforming Boone County into a national model for the “Smart Growth” agenda – the only group to organize countywide opposition by farmers to this plan in 1999.

Resoundingly defeated passage of Governor Patton’s proposed Smart Growth legislation on three separate occasions by working with groups such as the Homebuilders’ Association, the Kentucky Cattlemen’s Association, Take Back Kentucky and Kentucky Farm Bureau. Please note, however, that the League was the first group to identify the ills of this legislation and organize statewide opposition by farmers in conjunction with Take Back Kentucky – all other groups have made exceptions on this very volatile issue.

Members of our group have been asked to serve on the State Smart Growth Task Force, the Boone County Purchase of Development Rights Study Commission, and several other land use focus groups. Some members have even been elected to public office.

Members were instrumental in defeating an Urban Services Boundary in Boone County, which would have completely shut off the western portion of this county to development. Under this plan, farmers would have been prevented from selling their land at fair market value and all extension of county services would have ceased.

Members have participated in numerous public forums sponsored by the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI), the Smart Growth Coalition of Greater Cincinnati, and the Governor’s Smart Growth Task Force in order to protect your private property rights. All of these organizations have worked against our cause and are primarily funded with your taxpayer dollars.

The League continues to expand its membership by branching off into smaller chapters. Our young Al Yelton Chapter in Grant County already claims some 80 members and has successfully defeated a proposal there to increase conveyance fees in their first time out. Presently, they are working on a plan to limit the appointments of unelected officials and improve zoning laws.

Our primary goal this year will be to ensure that Kentucky remains strongly on the side of private property rights. We say this proudly because despite that nearly two-thirds of all states have some sort of property rights protection act, Kentucky is the only state in which Smart Growth legislation has been defeated when proposed by the sitting Governor!

Our activity is best described as follows:

Few states have faced such entrenched,
impassioned foes as those in Kentucky.
~ Lexington Herald-Leader

I have not heard of anything quite that strong
anywhere in the country.
~ Joel Hirschhorn, National Governors' Association

Bernie Kunkel's Comments to the Northern KY Legislative Caucus
Presented on January 10, 2004 at the Northern KY University Forum

There's an old saying that if you want less of something, tax it.  While we do need a certain amount of taxes to pay for the basic functions of government, we are reaching a point of diminishing returns.

And from that point on, the higher you raise taxes, the less growth, development, and job creation you'll have.  It was Winston Churchill who correctly pointed out: “We contend that for a nation (or in our case the State of Kentucky) to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.”  Trying to tax your way into a better economy is like kicking someone while he's down and expecting him to get up quicker.

Businesses and consumer spending are the engines that drive the economy.  And the economy will rebound sooner and with greater strength if we would at least make cuts in Kentucky's State Income Tax.

One need only remember what the U.S. economy was like before President Ronald Reagan implemented his historic income tax cuts in 1981. High inflation, interest rates and unemployment were stifling the American economy. The stock market was weak, and it was a period of slow growth for our nation. The Reagan Administration's tax cuts gave people incentive to invest in the free market, start new businesses and expand existing businesses with the net result of more taxes being collected.

In 1981, federal income tax receipts totaled $347 billion;  in 1989 they totaled $549 billion -- a 58 percent increase. That's right: Cutting taxes increased tax revenues.

The average annual growth rate of real gross domestic product from 1981 to 1989 was 3.2 percent, compared with 2.8 percent from 1974 to 1981. Median household income rose continually during the 1980s, and the U.S. economy created 17 million jobs.  And high inflation and interest rates, both of which robbed consumers of purchasing power, were drastically reduced.

We can do this same thing in Kentucky if the political will is there.  One learns just about every week that costs are going up on goods and services. For instance, recent headlines in the newspaper speak of water and natural gas bills increasing by as much as 50% in Northern Kentucky communities.  And our property taxes just rose 11.3% to accommodate the voracious appetite of government schooling. For those of us on fixed incomes, the times are indeed becoming desperate.

We ask the legislators to keep in mind that, as you have your meetings in Frankfort and discussions are held on tax reform or tax modernization, what your constituents really want, and desperately need, is TAX RELIEF.

Update from the Al Yelton Chapter in Grant County 
League of Kentucky Property Owners

The Al Yelton Chapter of the League of Kentucky Property Owners has been really busy.  We had a meeting with each magistrate on the Grant County Fiscal Court.  We discussed our concerns about the proposed ordinance compiled and submitted by the Grant County Planning Commission.  That proposed ordinance called for two agriculture zones (A-1 was 10 acres minimum and A-2 was for a minimum of 5 acres).  We are asking for only 1 agriculture zone with a 5-acre minimum.  One A-1 zone of 5 acres will be compatible with all the counties on our borders who have zoning.  This will give the property owners and people who want to buy A-1 property a level playing field with our neighbors. 

The magistrates were interested in our concerns and helpful with suggestions.  With their assistance, we wrote a proposed A-1 ordinance and submitted it to the Fiscal Court at a Caucus meeting in December.  Judge Executive Darrell Link promised us he would work with our proposed ordinance and would have more discussion at a Caucus meeting at a later date.

Judge Executive Link made good on that promise at the Caucus meeting that was held on January 26, 2004.  John Malone, Bud Clancy, and I attended that meeting and had an open and honest discussion with the Fiscal Court.  We think much progress was made and our hope is that all this will work and it will result in a level playing field for all property owners in Grant County.

We want to thank each magistrate who met with us including Ken Messer, Pat Conrad, and Dick Austin.  We thank them for taking time from their busy schedules to have open and frank discussions with us.

Sincerely,
Charlie Phillips, President
Al Yelton Chapter in Grant County