Council had another COW, at which they discussed possible amendments and accepted public comment on the drafted goals.

The General Government & Planning Committee will meet again this week and hear presentations about Zoning Ordinance Text Amendments (ZOTAs) and a new CROWN Act which was placed in committee the week of May 1st.

Lexington’s Chief Information Officer (CIO) Aldona Valecenti has retired from the city! Council met to confirm and swear in the new CIO. This important position oversees all matters related to information technology and communications.

The City Budget continues to move along! Urban County Council met in a Committee of the Whole (COW) on April 25th to hear an overview of the Mayor’s proposed budget.

Council will meet again on Tuesday, May 2nd at 5pm in Council Chambers to continue discussions about the Comprehensive Plan Goals & Objectives.

The Social Services & Public Safety (SSPS) Committee will meet again this week and hear two presentations. Their first presentation will be a police technology overview from Commander Matthew Greathouse of the Lexington Police Department.

5th District Councilmember Liz Sheehan attended the Rural Land Management Board (RLMB) meeting.

The Mayor’s Proposed Budget has been released, and Council has around 40 days to review the budget and make changes. The process for Council’s review begins with Link sessions - smaller groups of Councilmembers focused around specific topics like housing or public safety - to consider what changes they want to suggest to the group. Links are in full swing now, with 10 meetings scheduled between April 27th and May 11th.

Now that a draft budget has been proposed, City Council will meet in a Committee of the Whole (COW) this week to talk about the Mayor’s proposal. They will hear a presentation on the City’s finances from Commissioner of Finance Erin Hensley, as well as an ARPA update from Project Manager Jenifer Wuorenmaa. Councilmembers will then have an opportunity to review the Mayor’s proposal with Commissioner Hensley.

Last week at the City Council Meetings, you may have noticed some big changes to the public comment sign-up process!

City Council will meet again on Wednesday, April 26th at 10am to continue their discussion of the “Imaging Lexington 2045” Comprehensive Plan Goals & Objectives. They will meet two more times before they vote to adopt these goals for the city. All Committee of the Whole meetings take place in Council's regular chambers at 200 East Main Street.

Council will hold another zone change public hearing on Tuesday evening after the Council Work Session. This hearing is for property located at 5380 Athens Boonesboro Rd. and 5354 Athens Boonesboro Rd. with the purpose of changing the zone from an Interchange Service Business (B-5P) zone to a Highway Service Business (B-3) zone. This property is the current prospective site in Fayette County for the Lexington Sporting Club’s soccer stadium.

The Subcommittee on Council Rules and Procedures will meet again on Thursday to keep working on changes and updates to the council rules. At the last meeting, they received a redline version with all the changes they’ve suggested so far for review. This week, they will continue to discuss their recommendations as well as take a closer look at the social media and council decorum policies.

This week, Mayor Linda Gorton will be giving the annual Budget Address where she will lay out her priorities for the upcoming Fiscal Year, which starts July 1. The Budget Address kick-starts the budget process for the next couple of months. Make sure to stay tuned to this newsletter to keep up to date and learn how you can weigh in.

The 2045 Comprehensive Plan Goals and Objectives are back!

Council’s EQPW Committee will have their monthly meeting on Tuesday, April 18th

After their spring break, Council has a lot to cover in this week’s Tuesday Work Session!

On Thursday, April 20th at 4:30pm, Council will meet in their Quarterly COW.

The subcommittee working on updating and improving Council’s Public Input procedures will meet on Thursday, April 20th at 10am in the 5th floor conference room of the Government Center.

Last week, Division of Planning staff met with Councilmembers to go over the process of zone changes or map amendment requests and explain the Urban County Council’s role in this process.