Mayor Gorton Vetoes New Staff Positions in FY25 Budget

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.

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 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, and are budgeted for a full 12 months of service.

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.

In her remarks to Council regarding her vetoes, Mayor Gorton stated that she did not want to add recurring costs to the City’s budget that they may not be able to sustain in the future, and which may lead to future tax increases.

Council has the ability to override the Mayor’s vetoes. At least nine votes from the fifteen Councilmembers are needed to override a Mayoral veto. The FY25 Budget goes into effect on July 1st, so Council’s only opportunity to cast override votes would be in the June 27th Council Meeting.

How does Council plan to pay for the additional positions?

In order to pay for the ten new positions using the General Fund, 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.

Mayor Gorton mentioned that she disagreed with the precedent of Council changing revenue projections “without justification” during her remarks to Council.

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%.

Republished from CivicLex.

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