Abramson Touts Stimulus Dollars In Capital Budget

Declining tax revenues took a bite out of Mayor Jerry Abramson's proposed operational budget for the next fiscal year, but the capital budget was augmented by the federal government.The capital budget is largely sustained by about 100 million federal stimulus dollars.Abramson has already celebrated the flow of stimulus dollars into Louisville this fiscal year. He says the money coming into the capital budget after July will help bring 3,000 private sector jobs to the area."That will create more road repairs, curb repairs, sidewalk repairs, new sidewalks to be developed, weatherization of homes, et cetera than we probably have had in recent times in terms of the amount of money we can focus toward spending in these areas," he says.The stimulus funds are not necessarily a renewable source of income. Future projects may depend on funds earned through competitive grants and all stimulus projects must be completed in two years.