Metro Council has approved a budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1.  While changes made by the Budget Committee, which I chair, will preserve some Metro services that had been on the chopping block, the budget still has reductions in nearly every Metro department and cuts in many services provided to Louisville residents.  

Our task was to appropriate available funds in a way which would best serve the public, and agree on a budget which would draw the most support on the Council and be signed by the Mayor.  The job was much more difficult this year because of our dramatically higher pension costs, which are one part of the budget we cannot reduce. 

Of note to D9 residents, weekly recycling and weekly seasonal yard waste collection will continue, saved from elimination by a decision to end a wet-dry recycling program in downtown Louisville.  Proposed changes in library hours, which many found confusing and unacceptable, were avoided, at least for this year.

The Mayor’s recommended budget included a projection that LMPD will have at least 40 fewer offices at the end of the year than the beginning, due to bringing on fewer recruits to replace officers leaving the force.  The Council approved an amendment which moved one recruit class up one month and includes a new recruit allowance, but those changes will not reverse the projected loss of officers.

Louisville Fire Department will lose 15 positions through attrition.  The department is still working on a plan to absorb that loss while maintaining response times for fire and medical calls as much as possible. 

One ambulance will be taken out of service.  Road crews will be reduced, resulting in longer periods to fill potholes and plow snow.

External agencies, including United Crescent Hill Ministries, will see their Metro appropriations cut by 28%.

Unfortunately, pension costs will rise again next year and for several years after that, so even deeper cuts will be coming unless we find new revenue.  I voted for that new revenue by increasing the insurance premium tax in March but the majority of the Council opposed the tax increase and we were forced to make the cuts. 

Next year’s budget process will begin immediately and some of the things we saved this year, including library hours and weekly recycling, will likely be proposed for cuts again next year.

Thank you for your comments, questions and suggestions as we moved through this difficult process.  We’ll need them even more next year.

There will be no residential garbage, recycling or yard waste collection within the Louisville Metro Urban Services District (former Louisville city limits) on Independence Day, Thursday, July 4. The usual Thursday collections will be made on Friday, and the rest of the week will follow the same pattern of a one day delay.

Garbage pickup in St. Matthews will be delayed one day for the rest of the week due to the holiday.

Other District 9 residents who rely on private haulers for garbage, recycling and yard waste collection should consult those haulers about holiday collection schedules.

The Waste Reduction Center, at 600 Meriwether Avenue, all staffed recycling centers and the Haz Bin hazardous materials facility at 7501 Grade Lane will also be closed on July 4. They will resume normal operations on Friday, July 5.

The 36^th Annual Crescent Hill 4^th of July Festival is scheduled for Thursday, July 4 from 10:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. at the Peterson-Dumesnil House, 301 S. Peterson Avenue. Enjoy live music, art fair, kid zone, food, beer, pet contest, baking contest, inflatables and more. For more information about the festival, please click here.

Reminder, on Thursday, July 4, S. Peterson Avenue will be designated as one-way traffic southbound from George Rogers Clark Avenue to Grinstead Drive. There will also be no parking in the Barret Middle School parking lot.

Volunteers are still needed to make this event a success. Most shifts are three hours long. Youth ages 16-21 are welcome to volunteer without a parent. Volunteer positions include artist check-in, artist hospitality, cake wheel, fun zone, pet contest, information booth, field games, cake contest, silent auction, set up and break down, etc.

There are several ways to sign up to volunteer.

• To sign up online, click here.
• To sign up via email, please email Melissa.Mershon@gmail.com
• To sign up via phone at 502-262-5284
• To sign up online at http://crescenthill.us/page-18168   

Bingham Park, located just south of Brownsboro Road at Coral Avenue, is getting some attention!  The budget Metro Council approved Tuesday includes $65,000 for a Bingham Park Master Plan, to be matched dollar for dollar by the Olmsted Parks Conservancy.  The park has not had a significant upgrade in decades.  The conservancy is committed to fundraise for revitalization of the park once a master plan is created.  Watch this space for more information on the planning process. 

In the meantime, come visit the park!  Mark your calendar for 5:00 - 11:00 pm on Saturday, July 20 and head to Bingham Park for a neighborhood Bike-In! Like a drive-in movie but with bicycles, this FREE community event features live music, food, drinks and movies, thanks to support from Kentucky Select Properties and Kentucky Intentional Sounds.

• 🎥A screening of the movie A Bug’s Life
• 🎵 LIVE music from Dr. Dundiff and Rayul
• Food from local food trucks and 🍺 from West Sixth Brewing.
• Activities and games for kids of all ages from sonaBLAST! Records, Falls City Community BikeWorks, Side by Side Studio Art Bus, Olmsted Parks Conservancy Free Play.
• 🚴‍♀️Bike Racks are provided by Bicycling for Louisville‘s Every Commute Counts, and a Bike Giveaway sponsored by Scheller’s Fitness & Cycling – St. Matthews.

Hosted by Olmsted Parks Conservancy and curated by Louisville’s own Ben Sollee and Hal Riedling, this event is the second of five FREE Neighborhood Bike-Ins. Each event is designed to highlight each park’s unique local neighborhood, artists, organizations and businesses.

For more information, please visit https://www.olmstedparks.org/events/event/neighborhood-bike-in-bingham-park/.

Every year, Independence Day brings hundreds of visitors to the parks - and with that heavy traffic comes a lot of extra litter. On Friday, July 5 and Saturday, July 6, Louisville Parks and Recreation will host the first-ever “Pick-up the Parks” Days. The event will function as a do-it yourself volunteer project for individuals, families, neighborhood groups and organizations. Louisville Parks and Recreation encourages anyone and everyone to stop by their neighborhood park or one of the suggested parks to check for litter. Any litter collected can be left in a tied off bag next to any trash can in the park. Need gloves or trash bags? Those cleaning up the parks can pick up supplies from any of these locations during operating hours starting June 24^th:

• Joe Creason Park, Main Park Office, 1297 Trevilian Way, 40213
• Newburg Community Center, 4810 Exeter Avenue, 40218
• Molly Leonard Portland Community Center, 640 N. 27^th Street, 40212
• Berrytown Community Center,1300 Heafer Road, 40223

For large groups, please contact Volunteer Coordinator Sarah Flarsheim at (502) 574-7275 ahead of the clean-up to ensure there are enough supplies.

Recommended parks for clean-ups. Parks has identified high-traffic parks that might need a little bit of extra attention after the holiday. Those parks are listed below, but those wanting to chip in can clean up any park in the city.

• George Rogers Clark Park
• Petersburg Park
• Chickasaw Park
• Berrytown Park 
• Highview Park

Win prizes! Share your #LitterFreeLou photos! Be sure to post clean-up photos to social media using the hashtag #LitterFreeLou and tag @loukyparks. Those posting photos will be entered into the Park Prize Raffle. It’s that easy! Have Questions? Contact the Volunteer Coordinator Sarah Flarsheim. Email sarah.flarsheim@louisvilleky.gov or call/text (502) 574-7275.

We’d like to feature your sustainability story - a resident or business doing good things for the environment.  Riding the bus, bicycling, walking, gardening and more - our eNews will feature practices which can benefit all of us.  Send your story to Bill Hollander or Kyle Ethridge. 

Every Tuesday, LMPD’s 5^th Division emails out a weekly crime report. The report highlights thefts from vehicles, vehicle thefts and burglaries for the previous week. Recently, we have seen an increase in thefts from vehicles, and a common factor is that vehicles are unlocked.

Please remember to always lock your vehicles and remove any valuable items.

You can sign up for the weekly crime reports here.

To contact the 5^th Division, please email 5thdivlmpd@louisvilleky.gov. This is an email address that is monitored by the 5th Division Command Staff and District Resource Officers. If you would like to contact LMPD about issues in your neighborhood, this is a great way to let the officers know about it.

LMPD needs your help to catch people committing crimes. Many of these crimes occur in a short time. Your call can put officers in the right place at the right time. Please make sure you report any suspicious activity you observe.

How to Call. In an emergency always call 911. If you don't feel it is an emergency but you would like to report it to the police, you can always call the non-emergency line, 574-7111. You will hear a recorded message, you can press 5 and it will go straight to a call taker. It will be entered in as a run to be dispatched and the next available officer will be sent to the area.

Louisville Metro has launched the new system from Accela that features a whole new and improved Business Portal for permits, licenses and applications, and a new 311 Online Reporting Portal and mobile app.  For more information on the new portals and apps, please visit https://louisvilleky.gov/government/information-technology-services/supported-systems/accela.

Curious what’s inside the Gothic-style structure at the Crescent Hill Reservoir?

Louisville Water staff offer guided tours the second Wednesday of the month through September from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Walking Wednesday is held at the Gatehouse and the Crescent Hill Reservoir, located on Reservoir Avenue between Frankfort Avenue and Brownsboro Road.  The reservoir is located across from the Crescent Hill Water Treatment Plant at 3018 Frankfort Avenue.

The Crescent Hill Reservoir and Gatehouse opened in 1879 to supply a 10-day supply of water to the city. The gatehouse is still an integral part of operations, containing valves that control the flow of water in the reservoir. The volume of water in the reservoir, 110 million gallons, is almost the amount Louisville Water produces daily. Designed by Chief Engineer Charles Hermany, the reservoir and gatehouse provided Louisville a 10-day supply of water when it opened in 1879. The three-story Gothic structure was designed to resemble a castle Hermany saw along the Rhine River in Germany.

When it opened in 1879, the reservoir quickly became a popular walking destination, which continues today. The Gatehouse, which sits in between the reservoir basins, was restored in 2015.  The project included cleaning and repairing over 2,500 terra cotta ceiling tiles, installing a new slate roof and cleaning and repairing the limestone steps leading upto the reservoir. The gatehouse is believed to be one of the only buildings in this part of the United States with a slate roof on the exterior and terra cotta on the interior. The terra cotta is light-weight and in the late 1800s was a good material due to its fire resistance.

Walking Wednesday is free and open to the public.