District 17 Newsletter

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April 12, 2024


Friday Thoughts

Happy Friday! I hope you had a great week and are staying dry in this dreary weather! If you are like my family, I hope you also got to catch the eclipse Monday. What an incredible experience it was!

As far as Metro Council goes, there was a lot of news on the LMPD front this week. First, we received an update from the administration on the ongoing negotiations with the Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding the pending consent decree. As a reminder, the DOJ completed their investigation of LMPD last year and found a pattern and practice of unconstitutional policing. As such, the city is now obligated to negotiate a consent decree that establishes procedures around police management that we must comply with until they become ‘permanent’ practice. The areas of focus include things like use of force policies, discipline, records auditing, but also investments in LMPD facilities and health, pay, and training.

While the negotiations with the DOJ are ongoing, we do have a general idea of what might be required based on agreements that have been completed with other cities. These changes could include more reviews of training material, regular audits of body cam footage, regular reviews and feedback when use of force is involved, and better use of technology. All of these include costs the city must (and arguably should) bear to ensure our officers are well paid, well trained, and trusted by the people they serve. Keep in mind the consent decree is not something we'll resolve quickly.  Once in place, the compliance and monitoring will take years (typically over a decade). While we'll need to find that money in the budget (and therefore will require trade-offs), I think it is an important investment we should have been making historically. A lack of appropriate monitoring and proper investments in our officers has led to many of the issues we've had to deal with.

It's also important to note that LMPD is not waiting for the consent decree to begin implementing these reforms. Many have already been put in place such as new PhD-level staff to create and review training material, civilian auditors to review body cam footage, and our best-in-class LMPD wellness center. This should ultimately play out in greater trust between the police and the communities they serve - which has the added benefit of leading to a safer city.

Another aspect of LMPD we've been dealing with is the shortage of officers, at least in part owing to our levels of pay. This week, we saw the introduction of the new LMPD/FOP collective bargaining agreement that seeks to significantly boost officer pay. For too long we have underpaid the market, including the suburban cities within Jefferson County, which has made it challenging to recruit, hire, and retain good officers. This contract continues the path we've been on to correct this issue. In fact, our new starting pay makes us extremely competitive with suburban cities in Jefferson County and municipalities all across our region. While we have started to make progress in reversing the exodus form LMPD, we still have a long way to go. I am optimistic this contract will speed that process and help us get back to full force strength in the coming years. This is important because being fully staffed means we'll see more officers in every part of our city, including the 8th division.

I look forward to passing the proposed CBA, supporting ongoing investments and reforms that enhance officer well-being and community trust, and doing everything I can to help LMPD be successful.

As always, if my office can help in any way, please let us know. 


Contact the District 17 Office


Markus Winkler
17th District Councilman
Metro Council President
502.574.1117
Contact Councilman Winkler


Kip Eatherly
Legislative Aide
502.574.3462
Contact Kip

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Important Numbers

Animal Services  473-7387
Charmoli NP  574-5787
Codes & Regulations  574-2508
EACM  426-2824
Health & Wellness  574-6520
Jefferson Co. Clerk  574-5700
KY Science Center  561-6100
LG&E  589-1444
LMPD (8th Division)  574-2258
Louisville Water  583-6610
Louisville Zoo  459-2181
Mayor's Office  574-2003
Middletown Library  245-7332
MSD  540-6000
NE Regional Library  394-0379
Parks & Recreation  574-7275
Planning & Design  574-6230
Public Works  574-5810
TARC  585-1234

Coffee With Your Councilman - April 22

coffee

Jon Pilbean with Metro Homeless Services answered questions at our coffee meeting last month.


My next coffee meeting will be Monday, April 22 at the Middletown Library, 12556 Shelbyville Road. While we typically hold these meetings in the morning, this one will begin at 6 p.m. If you haven't been able to join us before, maybe a different time will help! These coffees are great opportunities to hear what's going on in metro government and share any concerns or questions you have. I hope to see you on the 22nd!

I was pleased with the turnout last month as Jon Pilbean shared how the city responds to homeless concerns. If there is a metro department you'd like to hear from or know more about, please let me know. I'm happy to ask a representative to attend.    
 


April 11 Metro Council Meeting Recap

Click here for a video recapping last night's Metro Council meeting. To visit the clerk's website where you can see the complete agenda and more detail on any piece of legislation, click here.
 


District 17 Cleanup Tomorrow - 9 a.m.

cleanup


I wanted to send a final reminder about our district cleanup tomorrow morning. We'll meet at 9 a.m. in the parking lot of Chick-fil-A (10501 Westport Road), specifically the row of spaces in the rear of the building. I'll have t-shirts, bags, gloves, and grabbers for those volunteering. The plan is to pick up litter along Westport Road and any other areas near that intersection that need it. I hope to see you there!


Louisville Parks and Recreation Survey

park survey


Louisville Parks and Recreation has placed signage in 30 public parks throughout the city in hopes of getting visitors to provide feedback on their park experience. The signage (see above) will include a QR code that links directly to a survey that takes only about five minutes to complete. An online version of the survey can be found here for those who may not be able to access the signage in their park. The survey will be active for about three weeks. 


PDS Weekly Activity Report

Each week, Metro Planning and Design Services creates a report listing all new land use cases in Jefferson County. These typically include requests for changes in zoning, conditional use permits, variances, and more. There are two applications in this week's report involving property in District 17, both of which are landscape plans. One pertains to a child care center at 13101 Eastpoint Park Boulevard. The other is connected to a proposed Zaxby's at 9903 Brownsboro Road. Please contact the case manager listed in the report with any questions.


Zoning Matters: Conversation with a City Planner

City planners from the Office of Planning will be available to answer questions about zoning (what it is, why it matters, etc.) and the ongoing Land Development Code (LDC) Reform project on Tuesday, April 16 from 3-7 p.m. at the Northeast Regional Library. They want to not only hear about questions regarding your neighborhood but also discuss what the potential reforms mean for you! This is the third series of conversations offered by planners. To view a summary of the previous two or learn more about the LDC Reform process in general, click here.
 


Pancakes with Police - Wednesday 9-11 a.m.

pancakes

Ken-Ducky Derby - April 27

Ken-Ducky Derby


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