Task Force will present recommendations on combatting gun violence in Lexington
Kenneth Payne of ONE Lexington speaks on new grant program to addresss gun violence. Source: Lexington, KY City Website
In Tuesday’s Social Services and Public Safety (SSPS) Committee, the Gun Violence Task Force will present revised recommendations on how they think LFUCG can address gun violence in Lexington.
The Task Force presented 10 recommendations in April of this year. Councilmembers at the time wanted more specifics from the Task Force, so the Task Force resumed meetings to refine their recommendations.
Tomorrow, they will present the following eight recommendations:
LFUCG should define gun violence as a public health crisis, allowing them to gain access to grants and federal funding to support educational campaigns and workshops about gun safety and violence prevention.
Support and program Gun Violence Awareness Month in June, working with City divisions and community partners to run gun violence awareness events.
Work with community organizations and Parks and Recreation to make sure that community and neighborhood centers are available for community-led programming.
ONE Lexington should notify Councilmembers when a gun violence incident has occurred in their Council District, and help guide the Councilmember on how best to respond and be involved.
Continue to support and expand the Community Paramedicine Program, as well as hire street outreach workers for the Office of Homelessness Prevention and Intervention.
LFUCG should expand their gun violence efforts to work with residents of all ages, not just those aged 13-29 (ONE Lexington focuses exclusively on gun violence prevention and intervention programming in this age range). This could be done by expanding ONE Lexington’s staff or scope, or adding positions in other LFUCG departments.
LFUCG should better communicate with residents about the work it is currently doing to address gun violence.
A new Gun Violence Coordinator position should be created and funded inside the Division of Social Services to implement these recommendations and other gun violence programming and efforts.
This position, if Council supports this recommendation, would be created in Fiscal Year 2026. The Task Force is requesting $75,000 to fund the position.
On October 29th of this year, Councilmember Jennifer Reynolds will request $75,000 be used from the City’s Fund Balance to create an office budget for this position to use whenever they are hired.
The presentation also includes a list of other recommendations that were discussed by the Task Force but not fully supported by a majority of members.
You can review the presentation slides starting on page 20 of this packet.
The Social Services an Public Safety Committee will meet on Tuesday, October 8th at 1pm in Council Chambers. You can attend in-person or watch live on LexTV.
