Mayor Says No To Tapping Rainy Day Fund

Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson is expected to announce more city budget cuts this week, but says he has no plans to tap into the rainy day fund to shore up a $20 million budget shortfall.The city has about $63 million set aside for emergencies and to maintain its credit rating. That’s more than similar-sized cities such as Nashville, which has $15 million in its rainy day fund.Some Metro Council members have asked the mayor to use some of the rainy day money to help close the current deficit, but mayor’s spokesperson Chris Poynter says that would be premature.“There’s no question that it’s raining right now," he says. "But we can manage through this fiscal crisis with cutbacks in government.”Poynter says next year’s budget will be even tighter, and using the rainy day fund to maintain the budget would deplete the reserves.