As Prospect officials move forward with a $200 million plan for a new downtown, some residents have asked if the city would be better off outside of Jefferson County.
While Prospect is currently split between two counties, Oldham County Judge-Executive David Voegele floated the idea of bringing all of the city into the county during an Aug. 4 meeting with members of the Oldham County Fiscal Court.
"Prospect seems to be an outlier in Jefferson County," Voegele told The Courier Journal Aug. 10. "... It just seems like they have much more synergy with Oldham County."
Resident William Kuchta brought the idea to Voegele after he found himself bringing it up in conversations with the city manager and town attorney, who suggested he speak with Voegele. Since moving to Prospect, Kuchta said has always felt like he lived in Oldham County – "other than when the tax bills come."
"First of all, I didn't realize I was in Jefferson County, not Oldham County, my real estate agent wasn't very helpful," Kuchta said. "When you look at Prospect, you kind of think it's in Oldham County because it looks like Goshen and La Grange."
Prospect reported a population of 4,592 in 2025, according to previous reporting. While the larger geographic part of the town lies in Oldham County, Kuchta said most residents technically live in Jefferson County.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said he "remains focused on improving lives for people across Louisville Metro," including home rule cities like Prospect.
"We’re always happy to hear ideas from our neighbors in Oldham County, but we’re also incredibly happy with Jefferson County as it is," a Greenberg spokesperson said in an Aug. 10 statement to The Courier Journal.
Kuchta said Prospect is one of a handful of towns and cities in the commonwealth that fall under "misaligned jurisdictions," or areas that largely sit in one area, but are governed by the laws of another. Other examples in Kentucky include Dawson Springs, Pleasureville, Eubank and Corbin, he added.
Potentially bringing Prospect into Oldham County, however, wouldn't be a simple task. According to a 1995 opinion from the Kentucky Supreme Court, the Kentucky General Assembly would need to write legislation to allow a period of study the feasibility of the move, and the measure would then have to be voted on by residents.
Kuchta said he and Voegele have reached out to Kentucky General Assembly Speaker David Osbourne, an Oldham County resident, for his thoughts on the plan, but have not yet gotten a response.
Oldham judge-executive suggests bringing all of Prospect into county
How would things change if Prospect moved to Oldham County?
Outside of unifying the city, officials say one potential benefit of bringing Prospect fully into Oldham County would be a decrease in taxes. While Jefferson County residents pay a 2.2% occupational tax, Voegele said Oldham County residents working in Louisville pay a 1.45% occupational tax.
He mentioned schools as another benefit.
"The Oldham County schools: grade, middle and high school, are all – I think – are significantly closer to Prospect residents than Jefferson County schools are," Voegele said.
Before moving onto "next steps," Voegele said officials are waiting to hear public sentiment about the idea.
"I think there is a lot of positive to it for people in the Prospect area," he said.
He said he plans to talk to Prospect Mayor Doug Farnsley if the idea gets enough traction.
"I have a high regard for Judge Voegele," Farnsley said Aug. 10 in a statement to The Courier Journal. "I would be pleased to talk with him about this."
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Reporter Killian Baarlaer contributed. Reach Lillian Metzmeier at [email protected].