Louisville City Wire

Louisville – The Louisville Metro Council unanimously approved the amended Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Capital and Operating Budgets during tonight’s regularly scheduled Metro Council meeting.

On Tuesday, the Budget Committee passed both amended budgets unanimously, and after hosting more than 36 hours of budget and public hearings, the budget amendment addressed critical needs, without adding additional debt above the Mayor’s proposed budget.

Review the highlights of the approved budgets here.

The following Metro Council members have issued statements regarding the budgets:

Metro Council President Marcus Winkler (D-17)

“I think this year’s budget reflects our priorities of allocating resources across the city, focusing on areas that are important to our residents. Whether it’s enhancing public safety, improving parks, or strengthening core infrastructure, we will be making significant investments in every corner of our county.”

Budget Committee Chair Rick Blackwell (D-12)

“I appreciated this opportunity to Chair the Budget Committee. The Committee has worked hard to create a fair and balanced budget that addresses the pressing needs of the entire community. While the budget isn’t perfect, it is a good collaborative effort between the Administration, the Budget Committee, and the entire Council.”

Budget Committee Vice-Chair Kevin Kramer (R-11)

“This year’s budget focuses on fixing what is broken while continuing to address ongoing struggles with housing and homelessness.  The Council added funds to begin important work on deferred maintenance identified in the Parks for All study, increased our investment in paving to $30 Million and focused on addressing homelessness. All of this was accomplished without increasing the Mayors proposed borrowing. This budget was built on a strong foundation of communication that began with the Mayor ‘s efforts early on to work with and listen to our ideas.  That style of openness continued from the beginning of hearings up until the final hours of negotiations.  I am very pleased with the collaboration that led to this budget agreement, and I enthusiastically endorse its passage.”

Majority Caucus Chair and President Pro Tem Paula McCraney (D-7)

“I believe Louisville residents will appreciate the fiscal discipline and conscientious effort the Council has brought to this year’s budget process. We passed a balanced budget that made significant investments in people and neighborhoods, and prioritized public safety, infrastructure, social services, and deferred maintenance. This budget reflects a government that is of the people, by the people, and for the people.”

Minority Caucus Chair Anthony Piagentini (R-19)

“This budget represents an even greater attention to addressing the infrastructure needs of our entire community. This budget makes significant investments in paving roads and fixing bridges, but also turns its attention towards address needed infrastructure that has accompanied the growth that is occurring within my council district. I thank the Mayor and the leadership within this council for working hard to build support for this budget and look forward to the positive change it will bring to the people of Louisville.”

Councilman Ben Reno-Weber (D-8)

"A city's budget is a statement of its values.  While not perfect, this budget goes a long way to invest in the things that make a vibrant city: parks, libraries, pools, and in a public-health first approach to public safety including deflecting 911 calls, eviction prevention, supportive housing, and in deferred infrastructure maintenance."

Councilman Andrew Owen (D-9)

“How a government spends the people’s money is a better reflection of that government’s priorities than any sound bite or press conference ever will ever be.  With this budget, I believe Metro Council has partnered with the Administration to reflect shared priorities that address some of the most acute needs of our most vulnerable citizens while also investing in neighborhoods that have been ignored for far too long.”  

Councilman Patrick Mulvihill (D-10)

“I am pleased that we have made a larger commitment to assist our most vulnerable populations in getting support and help and our significant investment in our parks and pools.”

Councilman Dan Seum, Jr. (R-13)

“An investment of $2 million towards the growth and enhancements of the Louisville Jefferson Memorial Forrest will greatly help this already great community asset. I am thankful to Mayor Greenberg for working with the Council to hear our priorities and I am appreciative that my council colleagues were willing to help me gain funding for Jefferson Memorial Forrest as well as Nelson Hornbeck Parks in Southeastern Jefferson County. I am also proud of the work we accomplished to add needed funding for infrastructure as well as outreach for the homeless, without raising taxes or increasing the level of debt proposed by the Mayor.”

Councilwoman Cindi Fowler (D-14)

“I am grateful for the financial support for the “Parks For All” initiative adopted by the Council last year. The budget includes new restrooms at Sun Valley Park and the final $500K for the expansion at Farnsley-Moremen Phase One. The big picture is a much needed $4.9 million dollar investment in our Parks system across the city.  The budget also includes an investment in a Homeless Pilot Program “Outside the Watterson” giving clients the tools needed to connect to services necessary for housing and job opportunities.”

Councilwoman Jennifer Chappell (D-15)

I'm so glad to see the investment in our built environment and natural environment in this budget. By funding long overdue projects related to infrastructure and parks, I hope that Louisvillians will see our commitment to building a better, safer, and healthier city. Louisville has long struggled with implementation, so I'm ready to get stuff done and looking forward to seeing our city's growth in the months and years to come. I hope the community is ready to help us.

Councilman Scott Reed (R-16)

“This budget invests more in streets, sidewalks and infrastructure than at any time since being elected to the Metro Council. In addition to addressing many of our core functions, we were also able to support significant investments in Hays Kennedy Park. We also worked to fund new ways to assist those facing homelessness as well as continued support for more police officers with better pay, technology and training. I thank everyone involved in this year’s process and hope that this model of communication and cooperation will lead to even greater successes in the future.”

Councilwoman Marilyn Parker (R-18)

“As a member of the Metro Council’s Budget Committee, I am confident in saying that our unified focus on addressing tough topics like crime, failing infrastructure and homelessness was the best since my joining the council. Working with the Mayor, we were able to increase our paving, sidewalk, signage and bridge repair budgets by millions all while refusing to increase taxes or the amount of debt for Metro Government. Our goal in this year’s budget was to make our streets safer and our communities stronger. I believe this budget helps to achieve both of those goals.”

Councilman Stuart Benson (R-20)

“This years budget makes significant investments in roads, sidewalks, parks and most importantly police. The Metro Council through its 2 months of hearings was able to locate unnecessary spending and exchange that with investments in departments that seek to fulfill our basic obligations of making our community safer. I look forward to continuing to see improvements to our roads, fixing our bridges and once again building on the momentum by addressing even more of the needs at Charlie-Vettiner park.”

Councilwoman Betsy Ruhe (D-21)

“How a city spends its money reflects its priorities. In this budget is increased funding for deferred maintenance in our parks, and funding to help our homeless neighbors, including outreach and additional shelter space. There is also money for affordable housing and eviction prevention. These funds address challenges we face in District 21. We have the highest number of encampments in Louisville Metro and we need resources to prevent evictions and get folks off the streets and into housing. While no one got everything we asked for, this budget addresses the most pressing needs in our community. I am pleased with the Mayor’s priorities and his willingness to work with Council members to make sure we have the funds to meet our constituents’ needs.”

Councilman Robin Engel (R-22)

"Working with our newly elected Mayor and his staff, we were able to collectively focus on the issues that matter most to residents of District 22 and all of Louisville Metro. Rather than fighting for a portion of the budget, this process supported our collective goals in improving our streets, making our neighborhoods safer and helping promote residents from all regions of Louisville. This budget will bring a greater level of investment to the Southeastern portion of our community and starts of process of bringing Metro Government a little closer to those of us living outside of the Watterson Expressway.”

Councilman Jeff Hudson (R-23)

“As a first year member of the Metro Council and the Budget Committee, I came into this process with open eyes and ready to fight for the people I represent. Half way through the process, it was clear that this year’s budget review was about improved communication and a focus on common goals and issues. This budget invests in fixing what is broken, funding new approaches to issues such as homelessness and investing in our police through better training, facilities and pay. I am proud of the work we accomplished this year and look forward to seeing improvements to our streets, parks and neighborhoods in the coming months.”

Councilman Khalil Batshon (R-25)

“The people of Southwest Jefferson County have greatly benefited from the work conducted by the Metro Council over the past two months. Working from a solid budget that was presented by Mayor Greenberg in late April, we have been able to find additional resources to support infrastructure such as roads, bridges and sidewalk without taking on new debt. I am also thrilled that we were able more make significant investments in fixing our parks, addressing homelessness through a variety of approaches and supporting services for areas outside of the Watterson Expressway. This budget represents a good start on our path to helping areas of the city that have been left behind, and hopefully will lead to improvements in everyone’s quality of life.”

Original source can be found here.