Council FY 23/24 meets in Budget Links
The week of May 8th, the following Links met in the Council Caucus Room:
Finance, Economic Development, & Planning Link - May 9th at 11am
Social Services & Public Safety Link - May 10th at 1pm
Social Services & Public Safety Link - May 11th at 9am
CAO, Housing Advocacy & Community Development Link - May 11th at 1pm
We have posted our notes from these Link Meetings on our budget page of our website!
The city budget is very important, as it sets the city’s priorities and is a reflection of what we value as a community. Council had a public hearing on the budget on Thursday, May 11th at 6pm in Council Chambers. You can watch the recording of the meeting on LexTV.
Update:
Highlights from those meetings include:
New technology for the Planning Commission to help assess community needs and amenities in Lexington’s parks
Funding for pay increases, addressing staff vacancies and changing recruitment/hiring processes across several divisions and departments
Discussion of pre-funded projects in the Community Corrections budget
Maintenance and updates to the emergency notification system, including expanding outdoor storm sirens
Increases in support to the HANDS and other Family Services programs
Council also heard comments at the public hearing on Thursday from people voicing their concerns about increases in police technology and the proposed intelligence center, needs for affordable housing and social services, and improving public utility services around the city.
If you didn’t get a chance to attend, don’t worry, because there are still other ways to get involved!
Contact your Councilmember - The Councilmembers are now in charge of the budget - they can make any revision they want, as long as it achieves a majority vote. If you have priorities, concerns, or things you want to support in the budget, let them know!
Check out our budget database - CivicLex creates a budget database every year, to help explore what exactly is being funded in more detail. The database is open to the public and accessible here. If it’s too confusing, don’t despair! We will be releasing our Budget Guide that summarizes the findings of the budget soon.
Attend a budget workshop - we will also be hosting three budget workshop in the month of May to give you the best possible look of how we understand the budget, and how you can get more involved! Keep an eye on our events calendar or our Facebook page for the dates to be announced.
