The Kentucky General Assembly is back in session.  Among the items on the agenda are local government revenue options. 

Louisville Metro and other city and county governments across the state face dramatically rising pension costs, but the ability to raise revenue to meet them is severely limited by state law. What’s worse, some of the options the state allows for other communities, including a restaurant tax, are currently prohibited in Louisville.

Rising costs without new revenue have already led to reduced Metro services, including fewer police officers, firefighters, library services and many more.  Pension costs will continue to rise in the coming years and a bipartisan group of Louisville’s leaders – and local governments across the state - have been asking Frankfort for help. 

We need Louisville citizens to get involved in this effort! Please contact your state legislators and ask them to support efforts for additional local government revenue options.  Find your state senator and representative at this link, and contact them by phone or email to ask them to work with local officials to find a solution that will pay the bills without crippling cuts in Metro services.

Metro Public Works is providing curbside pickup of Christmas trees within the Urban Service District (the old City of Louisville boundaries). Residents with curbside yard waste pickup may set their Christmas trees and greenery out on their regular yard waste collection day. Trees must not be in plastic bags, and all decorations must be removed. Residents normally serviced by private waste haulers should check with those companies to see whether and when tree pickup is available.

Drop-off sites are available for all Louisville/Jefferson County residents at four locations. The Hubbards Lane site will also instantly recycle Christmas trees into mulch that will be offered back to citizens for home use. Those wishing to receive mulch must bring an appropriate container in which to carry it. All lights and ornaments should be removed from trees before they are set out or dropped off. Residents may also drop off loose leaves. Containers used to bring leaves to the drop-off sites must be disposed of off-site by residents.

DROP OFF LOCATIONS

Tuesday-Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Waste Reduction Center will close at 3 p.m. on Saturdays

Open now through January 31

• East District Recycling Center, 595 N. Hubbards Lane
• Public Works Yard, 10500 Lower River Road (enter from Bethany Lane)
• ShawneePark, 4501 W. Broadway (by Little League baseball field in rear of park)
• Waste Reduction Center, 636 Meriwether Avenue 

As a budget cutting move, and to reduce the number of trucks operating in low-demand months, Louisville Metro Solid Waste Management will be suspending the curbside collection of yard waste in the Urban Service District (USD) beginning on January 21 through mid-March 2020. While individuals may request collection as needed during this time through MetroCall at 574-5000, please plan to set out your yard waste – including Christmas trees – BEFORE January 21. The last day for regular D9 yard waste collection is Friday, January 17, 2020.

The Kentucky Center ArtsReach, in collaboration with the Office of Mayor Greg Fischer and RiverCity DrumCorp, presents Keepers of the Dream, A Community Arts Celebration of Dr. King’s Vision on Sunday, January 19, at 5:00 p.m. at The Kentucky Center (Whitney Hall), 501 W. Main Street. This event is free and open to the public. The Celebration hosted by WKU student Jayla Ransom features:

• Freedom Award presentation by Mayor Greg Fischer
• Recitation of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speech "Another America" by Keith McGill 
• Featured visual artist Phoenixx Lee with the art of LaNia Roberts
• ArtsReach Our Voices Dance Collective from Chestnut Street Family YMCA
• River City Drum Corp
• ArtsReach Living the Vision Award presentation
• ArtsReach Violin & Percussion Studios from West End School, WESTEC & Portland Promise
• Poets Writeous Soul and Brea
• ArtsReach Playwriting & Dance Studio from Every Known Mastermind, Made New Acapella & D.E.S.T.I.N.E.D. Dance. 

For more information, please visit https://louisvilleky.gov/government/city-events/keepers-dream-freedom-award.

The program that helps prevent low income residents of Jefferson County from being disconnected from utility services has begun.

The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is administered by the Louisville Metro Office of Resilience and Community Services. The LIHEAP Crisis Component will run until March 31, or until available funds have been expended, whichever comes first.

This year’s Crisis Program will allow residents receiving a current utility bill with a past due amount and residents receiving a disconnect notice to apply for assistance.

To apply, residents must schedule an appointment utilizing the automated appointment system. Appointments can be scheduled by phone by calling 502-991-8391 or online at louisvilleky.cascheduler.com. The toll-free service is currently open and is available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

Applicants must be a resident of Jefferson County with a household income at or below 130 percent of the federal poverty guidelines (e.g. for a household of four, the gross monthly income cannot exceed $2,790.00). 

For more eligibility requirements and information, please click here.

Louisville Metro Government (LMG) will begin accepting External Agency Fund applications on January 17, for fiscal year 2021 (July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021). These grants funded through the city’s general fund are awarded to non-governmental or "external” agencies that contribute to the city's cultural, social and economic vitality.

A summary of the application process is as follows with more details listed below:

• Starting January 6, application questions may be viewed for reference at https://louisvilleky.gov/government/external-agency-fund
• All applicants are required to attend a mandatory application orientation on Friday, January 17.
• Following the mandatory orientation, the city will begin accepting applications. The deadline to apply is Friday, February 7, at 5 p.m.

All agencies wishing to apply are required to have at least one representative participate in a mandatory application orientation on January 17. The orientation will provide information about deadlines, how to access the application and other general information. There will be a morning session held from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and an afternoon session held from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Both sessions will take place at Metro United Way, 334 E. Broadway, Louisville, KY 40202. It is only necessary to attend one of the two sessions, and no RSVP is required.

The deadline to apply is Friday, Feb. 7, at 5 p.m.

For more information about EAF and to access the EAF applications and guidelines, visit https://louisvilleky.gov/government/external-agency-fund.

Please submit all questions to EAF@louisvilleky.gov.

My office is partnering with the Louisville Asset Building Coalition (LABC) to provide FREE tax preparation services again in 2020. The service is FREE if you earned $66,000 Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) or less in 2019 or if you qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Call the appointment line beginning on Tuesday, January 14, to see if you qualify and make your appointment! Appointments at United Crescent Hill Ministries, 150 S. State Street, will be available on Fridays beginning January 24 through April 10 between 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Please call the appointment line at 502-305-0005 to make an appointment and please share this with anyone you think may be eligible. Click here to view brochure. If you have any issues making appointments, please contact my assistant at 574-3908 after January 14.              

Do you instead file your own taxes? Through the LABC website there are two options to self-file online. The “Intuit Turbo Tax Freedom Edition” is available if you have $33,000 or less in income. The software has a well-designed interview process that guides you through the process of making decisions about your filing status, inputting your income and making decisions about deductions and tax credits for which you may qualify. The other option is “H&R Block My Free Taxes”, which is available if you make $66,000 or less. This program is developed by H&R Block and uses an interview process. Please visit, https://labcservices.org/index.php/free-tax-help/do-you-qualify, for more information.

The League of Women Voters is hosting Dinner & Democracy, a monthly community forum, on Monday, January 20. A light buffet dinner will be served at 5:30 and program at 6:00 p.m. (reservations are not required and donations are accepted).

January’s D & D program will be a unique opportunity to learn more about what it’s like to be a new legislator with the Jefferson County delegation to the General Assembly — the challenges, the accomplishments and the surprises. The event will provide an easy way to meet and share ideas with other local lawmakers — all the members of the county delegation have been invited. The highlight of the evening will be a panel discussion: "Perspectives of New Legislators: Looking Back on 2019 and Looking Ahead to 2020." Julie Raque Adams, veteran state legislator, will moderate the discussion. The panel is expected to include Tina Bojanowski, District 32; Charles Booker, District 43; Nima Kulkarni, District 40; Josie Raymond, District 31; Maria Sorolis, District 48; and Lisa Wilner, District 35.

Questions, please call 895-5218 or email lwvlouisville@gmail.com.

While many of us typically imagine springtime when thinking about tree planting, cold weather months are actually a great time to get a new tree in the ground! Planting a tree while it's dormant will give it the opportunity to establish in its new home before leafing out when spring rolls around. 

If you're thinking about planting a tree at home, now's the perfect time to do it. Make sure to take advantage of Trees Louisville’s Shade Tree Rebate Program -- you'll save money and help our tree canopy!

Visit treeslouisville.org/rebate for eligibility requirements and to learn more.

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. 

Congratulations to Mike Brooks on his election as President of the Crescent Hill Community Council and thanks to Cynthia Thomas for serving as President for the last two years.

Mike’s election was at a board meeting earlier this month.  Mariel Young was re-elected Secretary and Barry Creech continues as Treasurer.

Learn more about the Council and sign up for email blasts and the Council’s quarterly newsletter here: http://www.crescenthill.us/.

Louisville Parks and Recreation will be distributing a customer satisfaction survey to its community centers and facilities this winter - and conduct them at outdoor events and parks throughout the city this spring and summer – with the goal of providing better customer service and satisfaction to residents.

Paper surveys have been distributed at four Louisville Parks and Recreation facilities. The survey period will last one month at the following facilities: Mary T. Meagher Aquatic Center, Beechmont Community Center, Southwick Community Center and Berrytown Community Center.

After one month, the surveys will be collected at the above sites and then new surveys will be distributed at four additional sites. The process will continue at various sites, parks and events through late summer 2020. The survey consists of 10 questions and can easily be completed within a few minutes. Parks and Recreation is seeking feedback from diverse park and recreation facility users of all ages and backgrounds.

Survey results will be made public in late 2020. In order to measure improvement, the survey process will be repeated in 2021.

The Louisville Parks and Recreation Survey can also be found online at bestparksever.com or here. But Parks officials hope that park users opt to fill out the surveys in person at the facilities and parks they use most frequently for better, more accurate data.

Café LOUIE is back in 2020 to connect citizens to their elected representatives. From 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. each Saturday morning from January 11 through March 21, participants are offered refreshments and conversation.  Elected officials will be given a brief time for prepared remarks and to answer a few pre-selected questions submitted by attendees.  The focus of these meetings is engagement through personal conversations. Every Café LOUIE is open to the public. I will be participating at D9 events on February 15 at the Crescent Hill Library and February 29 at the St. Matthews Library. Learn more about each week’s schedule at https://www.facebook.com/CafeLOUIE/.