King, Downard Looking Forward To Budget Review

Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson's final budget proposal is now in the hands of the Metro Council.The council's Budget Committee will begin hearings on the proposal next week. The plan continues the cuts made in last year's budget and has relatively few larger capital projects.Committee chair and Democrat Jim King says the council will likely move some money around within the budget, but dramatic changes are unlikely."Typically we have approved about 99% of the mayor's budget proposal and I would be surprised if we're not close to that same percentage this time," he says.The committee will also consult with an economist."We typically get the opinion of John Nelson who is an economist from the University of Louisville to layover the opinion of Paul Coomes, who the administration gets," he says. "In many instances his opinion varies slightly, maybe a million or two, but I don't think we will be aggressive in that respect."Committee vice chair Kelly Downard, a Republican, says he's looking forward to reviewing the budget and working on amendments with his colleagues.