The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council discussed the city’s budget plan Tuesday for the first time since the mayor’s proposal earlier this month.
Mayor Linda Gorton proposed a nearly $540 million budget this year. Of that, $520 million is expected in the general fund. That means the council can’t approve any more spending above that amount.
The other $20 million is in prefunding. Lexington Commissioner of Finance Erin Hensley says that’s mostly made up of community support programs that are approved before the new budget takes effect.
“Their expenditure is either able to be in another fund, meaning we can transfer to affordable housing or transfer to workforce,” Hensley said. “Or we can go ahead and execute those contracts and have that expenditure occur.”
There haven’t been any cuts in this year’s budget amid federal funding concerns. But Hensley says if any grants are cut, retaining city staff would take priority.
“You all will need some time to figure out what programs you will want to retain and what programs we will not be able to continue to support, and in that time we will need to maintain the staffing that is here to be able to do that,” she said.
This year’s budget takes effect July 1, at the start of Lexington’s next fiscal year. It’s expected to be approved in June.
