Metro Council District 8 May Newsletter

Louisville Metro Council District 8 Cassie Chambers Armstrong
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Councilmember Cassie Chambers Armstrong

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Megan Metcalf
Legislative Assistant

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District 8 Phone Number: 502-574-1108

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Council Recap: How to Engage on the Budget

Dear District 8,

On April 22nd, the Mayor released his proposed budget. It calls for $986 million in spending for FY22, with $652 million from the General Fund. This number does NOT reflect the $434 million that Louisville will receive under the American Rescue Plan, which will be dealt with as a separate pot of money.

So where does all of this money come from? And where is it going? I've included a couple of graphics below to explain more about our major source of revenue (spoiler alert: occupational and property taxes) and where the mayor's budget would put most of our budget dollars (spoiler alert: public safety, which includes policing and corrections). You can read a lot more information about the budget here.

This is just a starting point, of course, and the Metro Council has already started a grueling schedule of budget hearings. I'm on the Budget Committee, so I'm attending these hearings and getting to learn more about each request at a granular level. I'll certainly be advocating for changes throughout the process.

Community feedback continues to be really important as the process moves forward. I've included the budget hearing calendar below--I hope you'll tune in if there is a department that you are particularly interested in learning more about--remember, these are your tax dollars at work! You can watch live on the Louisville Metro Council Facebook page or on MetroTV. If there are questions you'd like me to ask any agency, please send me an email at cassie.armstrong@louisvilleky.gov. Many constituents have already expressed interest in the police budget hearing. That hearing is May 18th at 4:30pm.

Among the most important of these hearings, in my opinion, are the two public budget committee hearings on May 13th at 6pm and May 27th at 6pm. You will be able to sign up to speak through the Clerk's office the day before each hearing. You can also submit written comments to the Clerk's office at any time. More information about the process for speaking at a budget hearing or submitting a written comment is available here.

As always, please be in touch with thoughts, opinions, or comments. I'll have virtual office hours on Fridays at 9am, per usual, and I'm always available to hop on the phone or a Zoom some other time. You can also send me an email with your comments at cassie.armstrong@louisvilleky.gov.

Cassie


Revenue

Metro government revenue sources