Mayor vetoes new positions in FY25 Budget, Council may override
Councilmembers Kathy Plomin, James Brown, and Vice Mayor Dan Wu in the May 28th, 2024 Budget Committee of the Whole Meeting. Source: LexTV
In June 18th’s Council Work Session, Mayor Linda Gorton informed the Council that she will be vetoing ten new LFUCG staff positions that Council added to the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget.
Two days later, the Office of the Urban County Council released a Media Advisory notice stating that they intend to hold an override vote of the Mayor’s vetoes in the June 27th Council Meeting. Nine of the fifteen Councilmembers’ votes will need to override the Mayor’s vetoes.
In her remarks to Council during Work Session, Mayor Gorton stated that she did not want to add recurring costs to the City’s budget that LFUCG may not be able to sustain in the future, and which may lead to future tax increases; she also noted her disagreement with Council’s decision to raise revenue projections in the Budget.
Council’s Media Advisory counters that City can comfortably afford ten positions, given a several-year history of Budget surpluses over the past few years, and their addition will not result in the City raising taxes.
You can attend Thursday, June 27th’s Council Meeting in Council Chambers at 6pm, or watch live on LexTV.
What are the ten positions Council added to the Budget?
Council added ten new staff positions throughout LFUCG during their Budget Committee of the Whole meeting on May 28th, with a total cost of $743,237 from the General Fund. The ten positions are:
Community and Resident Services Eligibility Counselor ($68,622) - This position assesses the eligibility of residents applying to various assistance programs from LFUCG.
Community and Resident Services Social Services Worker ($68,745) - Provides case management for for vulnerable clients and residents in Lexington.
Streets and Roads Administrative Officer ($96,998) - Would focus on financial management and administration of LFUCG paving services, as well as other services within the Division of Streets and Roads.
Traffic Engineer ($88,137) - This specific position, in addition to providing additional labor in Traffic Engineering, would focus on managing the Neighborhood Traffic Management Program. The position would also serve as a stepping stone for entry-level Traffic Engineers to advance up to in their careers.
E911 Manager ($87,133) - Would provide general management of the E911 office while under the supervision of the E911 Director.
Fire Accreditation Manager ($75,797) - Would work to achieve various accreditation statuses for the Lexington Fire Department. Currently, a Fire Captain performs the work of this position using overtime hours; according to Fire Chief Jason Wells, transitioning this labor from overtime work to a full-time, non-sworn position would save roughly $121,000 per year.
Real-Time Intelligence Center (RTIC) Analyst ($65,751) - Provide general management of the RTIC, which uses FUSUS software to investigate crimes. Currently, an LPD officer is assigned to work in the RTIC; this would be a non-sworn position.
RTIC Supervisor ($86,121) - Supervises the RTIC office and station. Currently, an LPD officer supervises the RTIC; this would be a non-sworn position.
Youth Program Coordinator ($25,399) - This position, which manages Parters For Youth, currently is a contracted position paid at $37,500 with no benefits. The $25,399 in additional spending would make this position a full-time staff position with benefits.
Recreation Manager ($82,297) - Would develop and lead recreational programming at the Lexington Senior Center on Life Lane.
Dollar amounts listed by each position include staff salary and benefit costs.
All of these positions were requested by their respective Divisions, but the Mayor declined to fund them in her Proposed Budget. The Mayor’s Proposed Budget created 15 other new positions, two of which are funded through the Water Quality Fund rather than the General Fund.
How does Council plan to pay for the additional positions?
In order to pay for the new positions, Council voted on May 28th to add $750,000 to the General Fund Revenue projection for FY25. This is slightly more than the $743,234 cost of the ten positions’ combined total.
The Mayor’s Proposed Budget always sets a revenue projection for the General Fund, which predicts how much money the City will earn and be able to spend over the next Fiscal Year. Administration staff collect economic data from Lexington, the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and the nation to analyze trends for different revenue streams when making their projections.
The Mayor’s Proposed Budget for FY25 projected a total General Fund Revenue of $500,011,434. With Council’s $750,000 addition, the new Revenue number is $500,761,434, which represents a total increase of .15%.
Council specified that they were increasing the estimates for the Payroll Withholding Tax, which is the largest revenue stream for the General Fund. The Mayor’s Proposed Budget projected $275,300,000 in Payroll Withholding revenue, and the Council’s $750,000 addition brings that total to $276,050,000 - an increase of .27%.
A breakdown of General Fund Revenue sources in the FY25 Mayor’s Proposed Budget. Source: April 23rd, 2024 Budget Committee of the Whole Meeting packet.
Before Council starts making changes to the budget, they generally vote to accept the revenue projections in the Proposed Budget; essentially, Council agrees not to add spending to the Budget that exceeds those revenue projections.
Council initially voted to accept the Proposed Budget’s revenue projection in April 23rd’s Committee of the Whole Meeting, which was held at the beginning of Council’s budget deliberation process.
However, the total additional cost of the ten positions exceeded the Mayor’s revenue projections.
In the May 28th Committee of the Whole meeting — the meeting where Council made their final changes to the budget — Council voted to add just enough money to the revenue projections to pay for the positions.
Councilmember Fred Brown was the only Councilmember to vote against increasing revenue, saying he could not remember a time that Council voted to change the Administration’s revenue projections so late in the budgeting process. You can read more about Council’s decision to adjust the revenue projections here.
LFUCG has overall seen a number of large Fund Balances — surplus money leftover from the previous Fiscal Year — since 2022.
FY22 had a $40million Fund Balance.
FY23 saw a $55million Fund Balance
FY24’s Fund Balance will not be known until October, but Lexington is likely on track for another large Fund Balance.
Lexington’s economy is expected to grow over the next several years, but the rate of growth is projected to be slower than recent years’ large growth rates. Council, however, feels confident that the City will grow enough over the next year to handle $750,000 in additional expenses to cover ten additional positions.
Updated on Friday, June 21st to include information from Council’s Media Advisory notice.
If you want to learn more about the City Budget, we have plenty of resources for you!
Read our summary of Council's changes to the Mayor’s Proposed Budget!
Read our Mayor’s Proposed Budget Snapshot!
Comb through an interactive database of the Mayor’s Proposed Budget!
Look through our Budget Page to learn more about the budget process in Lexington!
In the coming weeks, we will publish our Annual Budget Guide Booklet with accessible, easy-to-read information about everything in the FY 2025 Budget!
