|
Councilwoman Shameka Parrish-Wright 601 W. Jefferson Street (502) 574-1103 Email Councilwoman Parrish-Wright
Ben Harlan Legislative Assistant (502) 574-3452 Email Ben
Jocelyn Walker (502) 494-6663 Jocelyn.Walker@louisvilleky.gov
District 3 Website
Request a Meeting
Request Event Attendance
Find City Services by Address
|
The Louisville Metro Council Budget Committee has officially heard from all departments on how they plan to utilize their budget for the upcoming Fiscal Year (2027). There is some time allocated in case the Committee wants to call anyone back, but now it is up to Council members to determine what of the administration's budget to keep, and what to amend.
As a reminder, the following is what Councilwoman Parrish-Wright asked to be in the FY27 Budget:
-
Shively Library Expansion/New Build: Funding for expansion or, at minimum, a fully funded expansion plan and architectural design. Libraries are workforce hubs, youth spaces, digital access points, and community anchors. Expansion funding or planning funds in FY27, including a construction-ready plan within 12–18 months. (Previous library projects make the estimate for the total project around ~20M.)
-
Parks & Public Safety:
- $25,000 for street light upgrades/installations throughout District 3
- $30,000 to Metro Parks for a limestone permitter for Watterson Lake Park, as well as $50,000 towards the installation of a basketball court
- Inclusion/Support for the Parks Alliance proposed budget request
- Neighborhood Infrastructure & Food Access
- $15,000 to repave Old Millers Lane
- $30,000 for 7th Street Community Garden (for necessary maintenance and replacements)
- Funding to an initiative that can bring a grocery store or fresh food options to District 3
Councilwoman Parrish-Wright asked for money to be allocated to projects residents have consistently asked about. Real investments into projects that would improve YOUR quality of life. Unfortunately, the administration did not include any of these asks in the FY27 budget.
As an additional reminder:
The following organizations either received no money in the budget, or their funding was significantly decreased from previous fiscal years.
- Arthur Street Hotel-Serves homeless Louisvillians
- ECHO-Serves exploited children
- Extension Office-Supports Urban Agriculture
- Family and Children's Place-Supports abused children
- Hope Village-Houses homeless Louisvillians
- Louisville Memorial Auditorium-Serves Louisvillians via a widely used stage and event space
- Louisville Memorial Gardens
There are several organizations and departments that have asked for additional funding, including Friends of The Louisville Free Public Library (an additional $1.5M for books and materials), Evolve502 (assists young Jefferson county residents with college), and several others. Despite a bigger budget for External Agency Funds, more organizations have reported receiving lacking or nonexistent funding for their vital programming.
Now, Councilwoman Parrish-Wright has the opportunity to negotiate with other Council members on how funding should be allocated. Any Council member will say you can't please everyone, and that is true. However, the budget can be substantially changed enough to show where our true priorities are. Councilwoman Parrish-Wright believes robust funding to prevention and upstream solutions is both more humane and cheaper in the long run, than funding over-policing, and technology that has unproven returns.
Councilwoman Parrish-Wright is always busy-she attends meetings, speaks on panels, celebrates communities, and ultimately, listens. She's had a great couple of weeks continuing to serve.
 Councilwoman Parrish-Wright spoke at the monthly Democratic Caucus Press Conference to discuss ongoing and future infrastructure projects throughout the county. In District 3, before the fall, the intersection of Miller's and Old Miller's lane will be repaved.
 Councilwoman Parrish-Wright visited Lavette's Restaurant to support local businesses and enjoy some tasty lunch!
 CW Parrish-Wright attended the Center for Women and Families' Breakfast of Brilliance to support their work advocating for and serving women and mothers in our community.
Councilwoman Parrish-Wright attended the Metropolitan Housing Coalition's Annual Meeting Dinner. The keynote speaker was Dr. Brian Goldstone, from Atlanta, Georgia. He spoke about his new, Pulitzer Prize winning book, "There is No Place For Us: Working and Homeless in America". In this book, he chronicles the story of five Atlanta families, who, despite working full time, cannot secure safe and stable housing in a "booming" economy.
Councilwoman Parrish-Wright presented a proclamation to Helping Evolve Recovery (HER) for their third annual Recovery on The River Event. This organization assists those on their recovery journey.
 After the Library Budget Hearing, Councilwoman Parrish-Wright spoke to the Friends of the Library regarding their ask for an additional $1.5 million for books and materials for all the libraries in the Louisville Free Public Library System.
 Councilwoman Parrish-Wright attended the annual Law Library Day, hosted by the Jefferson County Law Library. This event highlights the resources available to those in Jefferson County, and the function of our legal system both here in Louisville, and across the state of Kentucky.
 Please join the D3 team for our next monthly District Advisory Board meeting on June 16th at 6pm at City Hall (601 W Jefferson St). Food will be provided! If you can't join in person, call, email, or text Ben at 502-835-4096 for a virtual link!
 Please join us for our next Building Our Blocks event for the HALLMARK neighborhood! We will be hosting this event at New Horizon Baptist Church at 2202 Dixie Highway with catering by Franco's, and resources from the Office of Housing, the Louisville Urban League, and the Louisville Water Company! Join us from 11am-3pm!
|