Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg unveiled his new budget priorities at Metro Council Thursday.
Greenberg touted drops in violent crime, new efforts to create more affordable housing in the city, as well as a current budget surplus of $50 million.
The $1.2 billion budget includes business investments in south and west Louisville, public safety investments and more money for parks.
Part of the budget funds the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, a new homeless services campus, and other outreach services for those experiencing homelessness.
In the budget address, Greenberg also brought up the need for housing of all kinds in every neighborhood.
“For homes that are in disrepair, those that are vacant or abandoned, we are making sure we have the resources to temporarily clear board them or demolish them when they can’t be saved,” Greenberg said. “We are also funding programs that will help developers build and preserve diverse affordable housing options throughout our entire city.”
Councilman Anthony Piagentini, R-19, said he agrees with the mayor on the need for more housing.
“I agree with him that housing must be built in every community in this city. The communities that many in the minority caucus represent have been disproportionately affected by the growth of development, particularly residential development of all sorts,” Piagentini said. “The areas of this city that have had the least residential development are areas like the Highlands and downtown. So I agree with him, I want to see it built everywhere, but districts like District 19 have seen 40% residential growth over the last 10 years.”
The budget also calls for more positions in the city’s police, fire and EMS departments, and the city’s first new firehouse in 15 years. It also sets aside money to continue work on a new headquarters for the Louisville Metro Police Department and creates a program to let first responders use drones during emergencies.
However, money has not been allocated for a new proposed training center for LMPD.
“There is no funding in this budget, or at least none mentioned by the mayor so far, for an LMPD training facility,” Piagentini said. “We are excited to see that the headquarters is getting funded, but we need to fund, and put money aside, for a world class training facility for our public safety officers.”
LMPD said they currently pay to train officers in other facilities, and a new training center would make a huge difference in their operations.
It’s not clear what the total price tag on a facility would be, and LMPD said they are still trying to find the right location.
Metro Council will consider the budget in the coming weeks before voting on a final version in late June.
