LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Urban County Council took its first steps toward developing a nearly $546 million spending plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1, adopting revenue estimates Monday during a Committee of the Whole meeting that marked the start of the annual budget process.
Council members approved a motion to use $546,901,379 as the total available funds for discussing Mayor Linda Gorton’s proposed FY 2027 budget, which the mayor unveiled April 14. The revised estimate represents approximately $6 million more than last year’s budget.
During the meeting, budget officials presented the city’s financial performance through the first three quarters of the current fiscal year. Officials reported a $429,000 surplus as of March and highlighted revenue collections running 1.8 percent above budget estimates. The payroll withholding tax, which accounts for 56 percent of the city’s general fund revenue, continues to be monitored closely as April’s tax deadline approaches.
“Revenues are slightly above budget for the first three quarters,” said Director Holbrook during the presentation. City officials indicated they are processing significant volumes of mail containing tax payments and expect additional revenue from that source before quarter-end.
The mayor’s proposal includes $78 million in capital investments and allocates $5 million for snow and ice removal, reflecting priorities identified following winter weather challenges earlier this year. The budget also adds $200,000 to the city’s winter shelter and dedicates $13 million toward street paving.
The proposal creates three new city positions, the lowest number since 2021, reflecting constraints on revenue growth. Slower revenue growth is expected in coming years, with wage growth projected at 3.7 percent over the next two years.
Council members will participate in “link” meetings throughout April and May where smaller groups will examine budget details by department. A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for May 14 at 6 p.m., and the budget must be adopted by June 15.
This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from LFUCG Meeting Archive, enriched with 2 web searches. The original source is available at https://d5zdwvvixs2xw.cloudfront.net/meeting/6749.