Abramson Says Budget Cuts, Disasters Marked 2009

Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson says he faced major difficulties in 2009, but he has high hopes for next year, which will be his final year in office.In 2009, Louisville faced budget cuts, an ice storm and flash floods. Abramson says Louisville was promised federal aid for two disasters, and only a portion of the money spent by the city has been reimbursed."The windstorm of September of 2008, we only got about 55% of the money paid to us," he says. "The ice storm of February of 2009, we only got about 19% of the money paid."In city government, allegations of poor leadership led to changes in Metro Housing and Metro Animal Services.Abramson says he was disappointed, especially with Metro Housing, but remains focused on moving forward."I was let down by the leadership that I'd put in place," he says. "It was my selection of that leadership and I take the responsibility for that. The good news is that we put a new director in, no funds were missing, we didn't skip a beat and we continue to move forward accordingly."Abramson has also faced challenges from Metro Council members who sought to limit the power of the mayor's office. Abramson will not run for re-election in 2010 and will instead seek the Lieutenant Governor's post in 2011.