Budget Committee - Regular Meeting

property owner and get permission to put it there, but don't put it in the public right away and make it somebody else's problem.

These incredible vehicles, the car enthusiasts, brings energy, excitement, and thousands of visitors to Louisville each summer.

It's one of those events that we have here in the city that everybody knows is going on because you can't go anywhere in Louisville without seeing some of the street rods being driven around every neighborhood in our community. And we love to play host to this event.

The hospitality that is shown, whether we're in a restaurant, whether we're in the hotels, on the fairgrounds, or walking down the streets, I commend Louisville for the kind of people that you've got. We thank you very much and we look forward to seeing you all out there.

Today marks the first day for Jefferson County students, making it an important reminder that infrastructure plays a critical role in keeping our neighborhoods safe.

People ignore stop signs, people blow through red lights, people ignore speed limits. Rectangular rapid flashing beacon is a form of traffic control that uses flashing yellow lights at a crosswalk to warn motorists of pedestrians or bicyclists waiting to cross or already crossing the street. State law clearly states that pedestrians have the right of way when they're in the crosswalk, and rapid flashing beacons are a tool, but they are not a fail safe. You have to continue to be cautious, be careful, and

Thank you.

Metro TV will be starting in 30 seconds. Good afternoon. I'm Councilman Kevin Cramer, Chair of the Budget Committee. It is about 4.35 on Thursday, August 6th. Sorry, we're starting just a few minutes later than we otherwise should have. Please note that Councilman Winkler has an excused absence. Councilwoman Woolridge, Councilman Reno-Weber, and Councilwoman Parrish-Wright are joining virtually. I'm joined in chambers by Councilman Winkler, Joseph, Councilwoman Parker, Councilman Piagentini, Councilwoman Chappell, Councilman Herndon, and Councilwoman McCraney. I'll leave that to everybody. Madam Clerk, if you'd please read into the record the virtual meetings.

This meeting is being held pursuant to KRS 61.826 and Council Rule 5A, read in full.

Thank you. My current plan is to take the items on the agenda in order. So the first item on the agenda is Ordinance 216.26. It is an ordinance amending ordinance number 91, series 2025, relating to the fiscal year 2025-2026 operating budget by transferring $20,000 from the Neighborhood Development Fund District 7 to the Louisville Metro Council General Operations for District 7. Can I have a motion? It's properly before us. Ms. McCraney, this is coming from your office, if you'd care to share.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chairman. District 7 is requesting the transfer of funds because of the balance that is currently in place my operating budget and I need money to continue to pay my part-time staff and I have a mailing that needs to go out and to pay for it and then leave the amount of money in there that is needed for this year. This would take me basically to December and so I am asking the committee to consider the transfer for use of funds for public necessity. And in that transfer also will be what I do every year and that is a tour for my district and we will be looking at data centers, we will be looking at an event that's in my district that is a historic event and there's no travel involved, we will have people to meet us there, but it is a cost to enter into the Oxmoor Farms. So I do ask for your approval. Okay, any questions?

Seeing none, this is an ordinance calling for a roll call vote. Madam Clerk, please open voting. And also if the Clerk could cause the record to reflect that we've been joined in person by Councilwoman Parrish-Wright.

Councilwoman Mulvey-Woolridge.

Yes.

Councilman Reno-Weber.

Aye.

Chair Cramer, you have nine yes votes.

Okay, this passes unanimously, and so we'll go to the consent calendar. Thank you, Ms. McCraney. Item number two is an ordinance amending ordinance number 110, series 2026, relating to the fiscal year 2025-2026 operating budget by reallocating funds between various departments. It's probably before us. This is, and I'd like to be added as a sponsor if that's okay.

You're more than welcome.

Thank you. This is an ordinance that we had in the budget process. We had allocated a certain amount of money through the EIF process and had asked that these programs be funded. The administration suggested this would be the place to, these would be the departments to put those funds. It was in the budget to do that. We asked as part of the budget process that council members who added money to the budget in this particular way would give us documentation kind of like what you would have done for a neighborhood development fund so we had a better idea of what that money was to be spent on. And so when we had that documentation in our possession, and shared that with the administration, they looked back over these funds and said, oh, well, this came to us saying you wanted to do this particular project, but it really doesn't fit in the department we put it in. In order to do what you really wanted to do, we would need to move it. And so what you have is, a list of changes that are a result of that. So it doesn't add anything to the budget, it doesn't take anything away from the budget, all it does is move allocations from one department to another department to accomplish what we intended them to do in the first place. Does that make sense? Ms. Tinberg, did I explain that? Okay, yes, it's money we put in the budget though. Right, okay. At the same time, that's true, there's also, and it's the same ordinance, there is an amendment that we need to make in order to take care of I'm a request from District One. Ms. Hawkins wasn't able to be here today, but she asked us if we would take care of this for her. She had in last year's budget a line item about lawn maintenance, and it was approved through the budget. The way that our budget works, at the end of the year, if the money's not spent, that money lapses back into the budget and then can be reallocated. There are folks who, are in line for the services that are to be provided um the services haven't yet been provided and so if that money lapses then those folks who are counting on this won't be able to it won't happen and so she has asked that instead of lapsing it we allow it to move forward we do this with ndfs quite frequently this wasn't in the f it was a different um a different line item and so the language that's before you Any unexpended funds as of June 30th, 2026 related to the fiscal year 2025-2026 appropriation for lawn maintenance for eligible District 1 residents may be carried forward for expenditure in FY 26-27. That is an amendment. It requires an action on our part, so I'm gonna put that forward as an amendment and ask forward for a second. Okay, so that's properly before us. So we have the entire ordinance. So the first thing to do is take a vote on the amendment. Are there any questions about the amendment as I explained it? Seeing none, the amendment calls for a voice vote. All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Okay, good. So the amended version is now before us. Are there any questions about the amended ordinance? Seeing none, this is an ordinance that calls for a roll call vote before we start. Ms. Chappell, as co-sponsor, was there anything else that you wanted to add or anything I left off?

I did want to add one thing and that is thank you for explaining this all so thoroughly and to that I have nothing else to say.

Great. Calls for a roll call vote. All those in favor, please log in.

Councilman Reno-Weaver.

Aye.

Councilwoman Mulvey-Woolridge? Yes. Chair Kramer, you have nine yes votes.

Again, with unanimous consent, this goes to our, I'm sorry, with unanimous vote, it goes to consent calendar. Next item on the agenda is ordinance. Oh, it was amended. I'm sorry. So it goes to old business with the amendment. Sorry. The next item on the agenda is item three. This is ordinance 2-12-26. It is an ordinance amending ordinance number 91 series 2025 relating to the fiscal year 2025-2026 operating budget by transferring $5,000 from the Neighborhood Development Fund District 11 to the Louisville Metro Council General Operations District 11.

Second.

Great. The item is properly before us. This is District 11 that's moving it, so this is me. I have tried really hard to keep my office budget at or below the $30,000 so that everything is fine. As many of you may know, I'm serving as president of the National League of Cities and so most of my travel is actually covered by NLC and so I've been able to keep my office account under that number. I was asked by the chair of the Sister Cities International if I would serve because of my role on the National League of Cities if I'd also serve on the Board of Directors for Sister Cities. I accepted that and so I'm now serving as a member of the Board of Directors. Sister Cities does not fund the travel for their board members and so I have taken on a little bit of extra responsibility and so in order to cover that expense I need to move some money into my office account. My sincerest hope is that when I get through to the end of the month or at the end of this current cycle, I won't have spent the entire 30,000, but just on the off chance that I need it, I'm moving it over there to be safe. So that's an explanation. Questions? All right. This is also an ordinance that calls for a roll call vote. Madam Clerk, please open the voting.

Council Member Reno-Weber.

Aye.

Council Member Mulvey-Woolridge? Yes.

Thank you, colleagues. That one is not amended and will be on consent. Item number four is Ordinance 217.26. This is an ordinance amending Ordinance number 111, series 2026, and Ordinance number 110, series 2026, relating to the fiscal year 2026-2027 capital budget and the fiscal year 2026-2027 operating budget. respectively, by transferring $60,000 from the District Three Capital Infrastructure Fund to the District Three Neighbor Development Fund. It's properly before us. This is coming from Councilwoman Parrish-White's office. Councilwoman Parrish-White, if you have the floor.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. First, I really appreciate your fiscal responsibility. I wish I could say the same, but we have a lot of activities in our high needs district and this is my outgoing so that means that half of the funds are restricted, and we still have several events we're having, so we're moving it because we do have a part-time staff person. We still have public meetings, our monthly district advisory board meetings. We also have the Good Neighbor Awards, and we're also sponsoring a few events around in the district with soccer and some other things going on. So this is the first time we've moved this much, but this is to make sure we have enough, we don't go over, and that we are able to finish out this year in an amazing way. We also, make sure every year that we account to our constituents the expenditures of this district. And so there is a report that is available every year. One is being prepared for this year that shows everything that we disperse funds to. So there is a detailed record keeping internally and also externally. Thank you.

Thank you. Any questions? Seeing none, this is an ordinance that calls for a roll call vote. Madam Clerk, please open the voting.

Council Member Reno-Weber?

Aye.

Council Member Mulvey-Woolridge? Yes. Chair Cramer, you have nine yes votes.

Thank you. Without amendments, this will go to the consent calendar. The next item on the agenda is Resolution 09226. This is a resolution of official intent of the Louisville Jefferson County Metro Government to finance the acquisition, construction, renovation, and improvement of certain capital projects of the Louisville Jefferson County Metro Government and its agencies and departments from the proceeds of one or more proposed issues of general obligation bonds and general obligation notes.

Second.

It's properly before us. Ms. Dunn, if you'll introduce yourself.

This resolution is related to the FY27 bond issuance that was approved through the FY27 capital budget. Those bonds will not be issued until later this year, really into next summer. And so this is, Metro does this usually every year where we put forth this resolution that essentially says in order for us to move forward on those capital projects that are being funded through bond proceeds that we will go ahead and start with those projects and essentially pay Metro back once those bonds have been issued and we receive the bond proceeds for that year.

Great, thank you for the explanation. And again, this is typical. We do this pretty much every year. Any questions? Seeing none, this is an ordinance that calls for a roll call vote. Madam Clerk, please open the voting. I'm sorry. It's a resolution. All those in favor, say no by saying aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? The ayes have it. Again, with unanimous consent, it goes to the consent calendar.

Thank you.

Next item on the agenda is a resolution. It's 09726. It is a resolution authorizing the mayor to accept up to 107,000, 107 million, 250,000 of funding from the Commonwealth of Kentucky through the Department for Local Government, authorizing and directing Louisville Metro Government to execute any documents which are deemed necessary by DLG to carry out various projects and authorizing the mayor to act as the authorized correspondent for these projects.

motion second it's properly before us if you please introduce yourself for the record hello everybody Seth Drake senior advisor for intergovernmental affairs in the mayor's office this is a resolution pretty standard after every legislative session that authorizes us to accept the funds that were appropriated in the the budget session we were very fortunate to get another allocation from the Kentucky General Assembly the projects range from across downtown infrastructure improvements to bipartisan infrastructure priorities on Oak Street and Fourth Corridor, Cedar Creek, improvements along Bardstown Road, and then just a host of other downtown items, funding for the zoo, maintenance expansion, and maintenance priorities that they have as well, and then of course the first responders driving track in Southwest Louisville.

The list is included with the ordinance. Any questions? Councilman Piagentini?

Thank you. I just want to, because we're formally doing it, express my appreciation to the General Assembly for this and really the last couple of years of investment and tax dollars coming back to the city of Louisville. We still wildly overfund the state compared to dollars that come back to the city, but we have seen that improve as a ratio of what it's been historically over the last couple sessions, and this year was no different. So just wanted to publicly say I very much appreciate what the General Assembly has done to invest in Louisville, and also I know some General Assembly leadership heard from more rural constituents say, well, you know, Louisville's getting all this money. They ran the numbers and they assured them that still the lion's share of money was going to rural areas and areas in need across the state, which is fine. But at the end of the day, we are constituents just like everybody else, and these are critical projects and others that we need help with. And I appreciate them and I appreciate the mayor's office and his work. I hear from General Assembly members all the time about how often the mayor spends time in Frankfort during the session advocating for the city. So it's very appreciated and I wanted everybody to know that. So thank you very much.

Great, thank you. Anyone else? I see no one else in the queue. Madam Clerk, this requires a roll call vote. I'm sorry, this is a resolution calling for a voice vote. All those in favor signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? Aye. You guys have it. Again, unanimous, the resolution passes, and so we will go on the consent calendar. That was the last item on the agenda. If anyone has anything. Seeing nothing, without objection, we are adjourned.

And formed to their surrounding neighborhoods, these building types are an effective way to add housing