Budget Passes; Hawkins Again Refuses to Be Part of the Process

The vote was 24 "for" the budget and 1 "against". Guess who said no to the Center for Women & Families, Dare to Care, ElderServe, The Healing Place, The Salvation Army, Project Warm and many others? Guess who refuses to take part in the budget process? Guess who DOES NOTHING to advance the cause of the Southwest in Metro Hall? Guess who pays the price for his stubborn, irresponsible behavior?

By a vote of 24 to 1, the Louisville Metro Council has given approval to the FY 2011 Operating and Capital Budgets for Metro Government.

“This was a challenging budget and I want to thank the members of the Budget Committee for their hard work and the amazing effort to work in a bi-partisan way this year,” said Councilman Jim King (D-10) who chairs the Committee. “We have done a thorough review and have found needed revenue for programs while at the same time followed a responsible course to not spend all the additional revenue we have found.”

The Budget Committee identified almost $6 million in additional revenue in the Mayors proposed $489 million Operations budget. Those revenues include $2.9 million in a revised tax revenue forecast; money was also found in a rebate from the Louisville Arena Authority, the proposed sale of properties and additional increases in other revenue areas.

"The changes in the appropriations reflect the differing priorities of the Metro Council compared to the Mayor," says Councilman Kelly Downard (R-16) who is Vice Chair of the Budget Committee.
The Budget also adds an additional $1 million to external agency programs such as the Center for Women and Families, Elderserve, Home of the Innocence and 37 other social service and arts groups. “I am proud the Council chose not to accept the proposed burglar alarm fee and still found ways to fund our priorities,” said Downard. “In addition, we believe the Mayor’s net profits tax projection is under estimated by approximately $3 million, but we did not allocate any projects to that funding. If the revenue materializes, we will determine how the excess revenue will be spent.”

King noted a realistic approach was followed this year in how Community Development Block Grant Funds are to be used in the coming budget. Some $4 million dollars was available in CDBG funding. “What we have done is applied those funds to needed programs rather than have the money idled in a holding account,” said King. “We have identified how the funds can be used and at the same time left a reserve for additional projects that may come in the budget year.”

The two budget ordinances will on the way to mayor Jerry Abramson for his signature.

Residents Rally In Rubbertown

On Sunday, residents and activists gathered in Rubbertown for a rally urging reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976.  This rally was in response to a chemical-leaking rail car at Dow Chemical that affected the neighborhood last week.  Some residents say they weren't notified of the leak, with some saying they heard about it on facebook. The leak was discovered shortly before noon.  Plant alarms sounded between 2pm and 2:05pm. Metro government officials are taking the company's side, saying proper protocol was followed. 

The protocol needs to change.  It isn't working.

WLKY has a story HERE. You can watch the You Tube video below.

Southwest Dream Team Presents Hal Heiner

The following information was received from the Southwest Dream Team:

I wanted to make all our members aware of our next Dream Team meeting. It is going to be held on Wednesday, July 7th at 5p.m. The meeting will feature Metro Councilman Hal Heiner, Republican candidate for Mayor of Louisville. The meeting will be held at 4919 Dixie Highway Ste E. This space is in the same building as the Jefferson County Clerk, just one suite over from Express Employment Professionals. We are allowing Councilman Heiner time to tell us of his vision for Metro Louisville and how we can expand the opportunities of merger to the Sound End and Southwest Louisville. Please come prepared to ask Councilman Heiner questions about what he is prepared to do as Mayor.

We will also update the members on where we are with our 4 priorities for 2010-2011, as well as updates on our second banner, which we are working on raising in Valley Station in the near future. Our group is continuing to have success on raising the awareness of the needs of Southwest Louisville. Please plan on attending and bring a guest!

Moving Forward

In response to reader suggestions, The Valley Report has undergone another redesign. Many requests were made for a lighter background that was easier on the eyes, and some readers had experienced problems while commenting on articles with the old design. Hopefully this will clear up any issues related to the last change.  Also, due to decreasing demand, RSS feeds have been disabled.  If there are readers that still want to subscribe to this site's RSS feed, please let me know and I will reactivate this feature.

As always, thanks for making The Valley Report part of your day.

Otter Creek Park Is Back

- The Courier Journal reports today that the state and the city are working to reopen Otter Creek Park.  The following is taken from the article:

Louisville Metro government is in negotiations with the state to have the Kentucky Fish & Wildlife Commission take over and reopen Otter Creek Park, the 2,147-acre recreational reserve in Meade County that Metro Parks closed nearly 18 months ago as a cost-cutting measure.

- If you missed Monday's meeting on the new Southwest Regional Library proposal, you still have two chances to ask questions related to the project. The meetings are Tuesday, June 15, 6:30pm at Riverside the Farnsley-Moremen Landing, 7410 Moorman Road, and Wednesday, June 16, 6:30pm at the Southwest Government Center, 7219 Dixie Highway.

King Postpones Second Public Hearing on Budget

King Postpones Second Public Hearing

Budget Committee Chair and Councilman Jim King (D-10) has decided to postpone the second public hearing scheduled for Monday, June 14, from 6pm to 8pm.

In announcing his decision to postpone King said, “the existing public hearing schedule conflicts with the visitation Monday evening for Councilman George Unseld who passed away suddenly last Thursday. Rather than force our Council members to decide between the visitation and hearing from the public I’ve decided the proper and respectful thing to do is to reschedule.”

King went on to say, “To avoid inconveniencing the public, we will ask local news outlets to announce the changes all day Monday and our staff will contact likely speakers from organizations seeking Metro funding”.
The final round of public hearings will be rescheduled for this Thursday, June 17 from 5:30pm to 7:30 pm. Speakers will be given 3 minutes to speak to the committee. Sign ups for speaking will be taken from 5pm to 6pm on June 17 outside the council chambers and speakers will be recognized on a first come basis.

There will be no phone calls taken. All speakers must sign up in person.