Peden Says Issues Other Than Tornado Siren Silence Prompted Call for MetroSafe Audit

Louisville Metro Councilman James Peden says it was more than a botched tornado warning that led him to ask for an audit of MetroSafe.Peden and his vice chair on the council's Public Safety committee, Councilman David James, sent a letter to Mayor Greg Fischer's office requesting the audit Tuesday. Peden says he and James have a number of issues with MetroSafe, many of them stemming from redundancies and inefficiencies in how the agency operates.Peden says he decided to formally request the audit, though, after seeing MetroSafe's response to civil defense sirens that failed to sound during a tornado warning. After first blaming faulty equipment, MetroSafe officials said two employees could have turned on the sirens manually."Falling on the sword or pushed on the sword, I don't know," he says. "If we had been a little more forthcoming, if MetroSafe had been a little more forthcoming at the beginning of that issue, the letter may not have been written."The mayor's office says MetroSafe will be audited, along with every other city agency, as part of Mayor Greg Fischer's plans for his first term. Peden says the MetroSafe audit should be made a priority.