BONNIEVILLE, Ky. — As the sun sets over the city of Bonnieville, the small community’s city title will fade away. The city of Bonnieville is in Hart County, about an hour south of Louisville. 

What You Need To Know

  • The city Bonnieville will dissolve into the hands of Hart County

  • Residents voted 67 to 60 in favor of the measure

  • The petition to dissolve arose from city tax concerns

  • The community's last day as a city is Dec. 8, 2024

On Election Day, residents voted on a measure that asked, “Are you in favor of dissolving the city of Bonnieville?”

Sixty-seven voted in favor and 60 voted against the measure. The slim margin of seven votes abolishes the city.

“I’m still wrapping my mind around it. I still haven’t, I don’t know, it just doesn’t seem real,” said Bonnieville mayor, Marie Whitlow.

Whitlow has been the mayor of the city for four years and it’s been of a family job as her mother served as mayor during the turn of the century.

“I love my community. I love my little town. Tried to do all I could to save it,” Whitlow said.

Her civic duty is ending on Dec. 8, 2024, when the city will dissolve into the hands of Hart County. 

“There’s not going to be any light, any streetlights and no government help, no roadwork help…we have to depend on the county completely,” said Whitlow.

Bonnieville is made up of about 260 people and many of the residents said they spent most of their life in the small city. They said Bonnieville will still be Bonnieville, just without the city title.

“It was a very close, it was very divided, but it’s done been done and they know we need to look forward and carry on,” said Dennis Amos, Chief of the Bonnieville Fire Department.

The root cause of the petition to dissolve the city was taxes. The mayor said the city tax was the lowest in the county, but people in favor of the petition said those monies weren’t bettering the community. 

“Me and a few others was in favor for it, not just for the paying the taxes. We don’t care to pay the taxes. So it’s just nobody could ever tell us where the money was going and, pretty much all of us down here, that was for it lived here our whole lives,” said Rufus Skaggs, Bonnieville councilman-elect.

Skaggs is a longtime Bonnieville resident, and he just won election to the city council, which won’t exist. He said he ran knowing the position could be eliminated. 

“I ran in case it didn’t go. Then, we could either get in here and change some things and make it better and get rid of some bad apples, or we could just vote the city out ourselves if it didn’t better,” Skaggs said.

Without the city, there is no need for Mayor Whitlow’s job, but she said she will be back in the political arena one day. 

“Bonnieville’s a wonderful community, got wonderful people here, I grew up with most of them and it’s a sad thing to end really, really sad,” said Whitlow.

The city council’s final meeting is Monday, Nov. 18, 2024.

Some of the city streetlights may stay on.

LG&E and KU sent a letter to Bonnieville residents last week.

They will be able to pay for the former city lights if they want to keep them on.

The average cost of those streetlights per month is between $8 and $14, depending on the type of light.

Residential service will not be affected.