Lexington mayor Linda Gorton proposed a $539 million city budget for this year during a Tuesday briefing to city council.
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.
A new children’s museum, more vehicles for its police and fire departments and a 3% raise for non-sworn city employees are among the items included in this year’s budget.
It’s also significantly increasing the amount of resources going toward winter weather. The city will have nearly three-and-a-half million dollars to deal with snow, up from $2 million last year.
Other projects include looking into using artificial intelligence for city cybersecurity, continuing a study that would build a solar farm on the Haley Pike Landfill and adding medical monitoring tech for inmates at the Fayette County Detention Center.
The proposal now goes to the city council for approval. The council has until June 30 to approve it.
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