BY LANCE GAITHER

lance.gaither@bluegrassnewsmedia.com

After winning his bid for sheriff in November, Sheriff Taylor Bottom officially began his role in the office last week.

“It’s a very humbling feeling that the people supported me and trust me the way they do,” Bottom said. “It’s a prestigious job, the citizens of Boyle County picked me to be their voice and their sheriff. To protect them and ensure that their tax money is being used correctly and not stolen.”

Bottom began his career in law enforcement in 2010 when he got hired as court security for the courthouse. A year later he was promoted to deputy. He decided to run for office after Derek Robbins announced he would retire.

“I wanted to be a police officer but especially a sheriff since I was a little kid,” Bottom said. “There is a picture of me and my brothers with our grandfather where I was about 5 or 6 and my shirt said sheriff’s patrol on it. It’s been a dream of mine to serve the community as best as I can. This job and title allows me to serve my community at the highest level. I’m very fortunate that my dream came true. It was a long process to get elected, everyday felt like the longest slowest day ever. It didn’t sink in until I came into the office and I realized there wasn’t a boss to answer to and that people were coming to talk to me.”

As sheriff, Bottom hopes to change the deadlines for property taxes in the county.

“We collect taxes in November and there is a 2 percent discount in November and you have a face value amount in December,” he said. “You can actually start collecting taxes in October. That gives you the discount in October and face value for November and October. If you pay in the first week of October that is almost 3 months before Christmas. We all know Christmas is a financially burdened time for many families. I think by doing this it would be a great benefit for the community. I would also like to increase patrols in the county and anything we can do to be better at the job we are going to try and do. The sheriff is a bridge between law enforcement and the community and I want to be a strong, sturdy bridge.”

Bottom is the first Republican to be elected sheriff in Boyle County.

“I take pride in being the first Republican but know people from other parties still supported me,” Bottom said. “Regardless of your party or background we are coming if you need us. I’m very thankful for the people who trusted with me the job and for the people who help me run this office I couldn’t do it without them. I serve a very good God who I’m thankful has granted me this opportunity to serve my community. We are here to do what is right, we want to serve the people to best of our ability.”