Lexington Mayor Jim Gray on Tuesday will unveil his budget recommendations for the upcoming fiscal year. The spending plan is expected to call for resources for additional construction.
Gray characterizes his budget plan as 'taking care of the basics and making investments in the future.' The mayor says the city has had budget surpluses the last three years. Gray says the multi- million dollar plan includes more brick and mortar projects than last year's budget. "We can afford to make investments in quality of life and quality of place that will encourage people to live, work, and stay in our city," said Gray.
The budget is expected to include money for refurbishing the county's old courthouse. "We have an old courthouse, our historic courthouse in the center of our city that is in drastic need of repairs of renovation," he said. "It's the front door to our city."
Gray says a study of costs associated with operating the current city hall needs updating. "Comparatively little repairs and maintenance has been done on this facility and today it's costing us four times what a new facility would cost to maintain," explained Gray.
The mayor's plan is not expected to call for construction of a new government center. Council members will review the mayor suggestions and vote on the budget in June. ?
