The Louisville Metro Council has approved a plan to borrow $35 million to finance the remainder of a settlement with firefighters over miscalculated overtime.The council's budget committee had recommended this week that the settlement be financed with a combination of bonds and $10 million from the city's rainy day fund.But at the full council meeting Thursday, an amendment offered by Councilman Brent Ackerson to pay for the entire settlement with a ten year bond issue was narrowly approved, 13 to 11.Ackerson said the city should protect its reserve fund in the event of a disaster, citing the flood recovery effort underway in Nashville.Last year, Metro Government reached a $45 million settlement with hundreds of firefighters who had filed suit over the miscalculated overtime. The city has already paid the first installment of the settlement.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.