Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and other local elected officials were sworn into office on Monday.
For Fischer, the ceremony marked the beginning of his second term as mayor.
In a recent interview with WFPL, the mayor said his goals for 2015 include job growth and a continued push for economic investment.
“Our success is obviously driven by our economic success,” he said in the interview.
Fischer also talked at length about the need for a Local Option Sales Tax in Louisville and how the one percent tax could benefit the city. He said projects like the completion of the Louisville Loop could be expedited with the funds generated through the local option tax.
You can hear an edited version of the interview below:
Fischer echoed those sentiments on Monday during his inauguration speech in the Metro Hall rotunda. He said the coming years will be focused on “making the critical investments that create opportunities for every Louisvillian to reach their full human potential.”
“We must invest our attention, energy and time on the development of our people,” he said. “All other good things will then follow.”
(You can read Fischer's prepared remarks here.)
Outside Metro Hall on Monday, some Louisville residents had requests for what they want to see from the mayor during the next few years.
On downtown Louisville bus stops and sidewalks, residents discussed the need for more jobs, better education, activities for young people and more. Listen below to what some Louisvillians had to say:
“Keep jobs coming, that is really the most important thing right now.” — Crystal Ruiz
“More jobs open to felons and people with a criminal background.” — Shawntay Young
“The biggest issue is education. I don’t know if that is really a local issue, but I feel like our schools are underfunded,” — David Knox
“It’s all about the young people. Give the kids, teenagers, something to do and keep them out of the streets." — Don Tinsley
“The harassment the police are doing, they are abusing their authority, that’s what they are doing and that’s what he needs to work on.” — Gary Taylor
“Homelessness is a big problem around here. I’ve dealt with it in other cities and this is up there with the worst ones.” — Justin Spear
“The crime rate, it’s, like, bad and I think he needs to do something about that.” — Renada Frampton
