Lexington mayor Linda Gorton says the city’s budget this year will not have any cuts.
She's proposing a nearly $540 million budget this year. The mayor says the city projects a 5% rise in revenue, but they’re also seeing a 9% rise in costs because of rising prices of materials.
Gorton says all its federal grants are intact for the time being. She says she doesn’t expect that to change, but they’re keeping an eye on potential federal funding cuts.
“We don't think the growth in costs are going to slow down,” Gorton said. “So we kind of tightened our belt a bit. There's no worry. We are not fearful that we won't make our budget. But we do see that coming down the path, we do need to tighten up a little bit.”
“We're keeping good tabs on it,” she said. “We've got our federal lobbyists talking with folks up there, we've got our state lobbyists, and we have no indication right now that we'll have cuts.”
A new children’s museum, more funding for snow events and a 3% raise for non-sworn city employees are among the items included in this year’s budget.
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