Metro Council will hold its last meeting of 2019 on Thursday, and President David James (D-6) says the key issue now and headed into next year will be the city's budget.
The council will consider an ordinance that recommends deploying most of a $4 million surplus from the last fiscal year to create a pension payment fund and to move up a police recruit class.
As the city's required pension payments continue to rise over the next several years, questions of where and how to distribute funds will be points of scrutiny for public officials.
James said there are a number of categories of legislation that will come up on Thursday, and "probably the most important is the budget conversation will be taking place at the next council meeting about the surplus funds ... in the mid-year adjustment. I think that'll be a good part of the part of the conversation."
Metro Council approved more than $25 million in cuts to this fiscal year's budget, driven largely by the pension shortfall. That came about after the state's pension boardchanged the assumptions for Kentucky's retirement plan, and the city's bill outpaced revenue.
Here are some of the key items James said Metro Council will consider in its meeting Thursday, which is open to the public at City Hall and will be streamed online.
- An ordinance allocating $4 million of surplus from last fiscal year toward a $2.7 million pension fulfillment fund and a $300,000 payment to start a police recruit class one month sooner. The department canceled a class in June for budget reasons, which contributed to the surplus.
- A resolution related to the designation of buildings on the Holy Name Catholic Church campus on South 4th Street as landmarks. Metro Council will consider whether to overturn the Planning Commission's decision to name those buildings protected landmarks.
- An ordinance approving the closure of an alley to make way for the controversial One Park development at Lexington Road and Grinstead Drive. The Planning Commission approved that change in October.
