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Councilman Bill Hollander invites D9 constituents to participate in a discussion about the upcoming budget. The Metro Council has started the review of the 2017-2018 budget recommended by Mayor Greg Fischer. The proposed budget focuses heavily on public safety, including significant investments in LMPD, while continuing to fund affordable housing, paving and a new Northeast Regional Library.
The May District 9 Community Conversation is set for Wednesday, May 17, at 6:30 p.m. at the Peterson Dumesnil House, 301S. Peterson Avenue.
The $593 million general fund operating budget anticipates $23 million in new revenue, with the greatest chunk of that – $19 million, or 83 percent – earmarked for LMPD and the Office for Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods, including additional police officers.
The budget proposal was presented one month earlier than usual under an ordinance Hollander sponsored last year. The ordinance was designed to give the public and Council members more time to evaluate and comment on the budget.
“As with all D9 Community Conversations, discussion of any other subjects is welcome and I will be available to talk with constituents about any questions, comments or concerns,” says Hollander. “So, mark your calendar and bring along a friend or neighbor to let me know what you think.”
For more information about May’s D9 Community Conversation, contact Councilman Hollander’s office at 574-1109.
Earlier this week, Attorney General Andy Beshear joined with attorneys general from 36 states and the District of Columbia to send a letter urging the United States government to expand its policy regarding the use of federal funds to investigate and prosecute Medicaid abuse and neglect cases.
The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) letter was sent to the United States Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price.
Beshear said the federal government should change its policy so each state’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) could use federal funds to investigate and prosecute a wider range of Medicaid abuse and neglect cases, including those that occur in the home.
Beshear said his office’s MFCU currently investigates and prosecutes Medicaid provider fraud, resident abuse complaints in Medicaid-funded health care facilities, and receives and reviews abuse and neglect complaints through the Elder Abuse Hotline.
The rule change would allow Beshear’s MFCU, along with other state’s units, to handle the investigation and prosecution of Medicaid providers who provide their services in non-institutional settings.
“Kentucky’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is working hard to protect Kentucky senior citizens and our most vulnerable,” Beshear said. “By changing out-of-date federal regulations, my office will have broader authority to directly help those suffering from abuse and prosecute their abusers.”
Beshear said statistics cited by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggest that one in 10 persons living at home, age 65 and older, will become a victim of abuse. The CDC figures also suggest that most elder abuse is not ever detected, with one study concluding that for every case of elder abuse detected or reported, 23 more remain unknown.
For these reasons, the attorneys general assert in the letter, “…the current strict federal limitations on states’ ability to use MFCU assets to investigate abuse and neglect are outdated, arbitrarily restrict our ability to protect Medicaid beneficiaries from abuse and neglect as Congress intended, and should be replaced or eliminated.”
NAAG offered two changes to current federal regulations:
- Allow each state’s Medicaid Fraud Control Units federal funds to be used to investigate and prosecute abuse and neglect of Medicaid beneficiaries in non-institutional settings (i.e. home health care).
- Allow use of MFCU federal funds to freely screen or review all complaints or reports of whatever type, in whatever setting.
Beshear has made protecting Kentucky senior citizens one of his office’s core missions.
Upon taking office, one of the first steps Beshear took was to expand Kentucky’s Elder Abuse Hotline to 24/7 to help ensure seniors are protected both day and night.
To report any instances of patient abuse, neglect or exploitation to the Attorney General’s Elder Abuse Hotline call, 877-228-7384.
CycLOUvia makes an exciting return this coming Saturday, May 13th, to three Metro Louisville neighborhoods and Council Members Pat Mulvihill (D-10) and Barbara Sexton Smith (D-4) are encouraging people to come out and have fun.
“Germantown, Schnitzelburg and Shelby Park are three areas with a rich history and great people who live and work there,” says Mulvihill. “CycLOUvia is a great way for these neighbors to come out, ride their bike or walk around and get to know the area. Folks come out, have fun and discover some of the exciting businesses located there, both old and new.”
This is will be the 10th CycLOUvia and this time the Three Points area, that is bounded by Goss Avenue, Logan Street and Shelby Street will be closed to motorized vehicles. It will afford pedestrians, bikers, skaters, joggers and dancers to come out and enjoy the afternoon.
“I think this is a great way for people to get out and enjoy a great Saturday in May and it is also an opportunity for other folks outside the Three Points area to come and enjoy the down to earth nature of these three neighborhoods,” says Sexton Smith.
CycLOUvia was created by Mayor Greg Fischer back in 2012 as a new part of the Mayor’s Healthy Hometown Movement.
During the 10th CycLOUvia the streets will be closed from 2:00pm to 6:00pm.
To learn more about this CycLOUvia, go to: https://louisvilleky.gov/news/first-cyclouvia-2017-will-be-held-may-13
Taking your kids to catch some hand-sized bluegill is another great aspect of this time of year in our state.
“A lot of your bigger male bluegill are moving up into the shallows,” said David Baker, Central Fisheries District biologist for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “It is an excellent time to take kids out and get them excited and hooked on fishing.”
Baker took his wife, daughter and son on a trip to a pond on a central Kentucky wildlife management area last weekend. “They caught so many fish; I couldn’t keep up with them,” he said. “My wife and daughter had one on at the same time. It was like that for a solid hour.”
Photo: Kentucky Department Fish and Wildlife
Bluegill in the shallows doing their reproductive dance brings some of the fastest fishing found. “Bluegill are close to spawning and definitely willing to strike bait suspended under a bobber,” Baker said. “I’ve been to several of our central Kentucky lakes recently and received good reports on the bluegill fishing. We manage the smaller state-owned lakes in our district for good panfish populations. Boltz Lake, Corinth Lake, Beaver Lake, Elmer Davis Lake and McNeely Lake are all fishing really well for panfish right now.”
Two of those lakes lie in Grant County, 92-acre Boltz Lake and 96-acre Corinth Lake, and both hold good bluegill populations. “Corinth rebounded from the shad eradication a while back and is doing well for bluegill,” Baker said. “We see them now up 8 ½ inches regularly. We are also seeing redear sunfish up to 10 inches in Corinth.” Redear sunfish are commonly called “shellcrackers” by anglers.
Baker said 158-acre Beaver Lake in Anderson County is full of 8-inch and longer bluegill. “Fish tight to cover and under the cedar trees for bluegill on Beaver Lake,” Baker said. “We also saw redear sunfish up to 12 inches at Beaver. They are out in the middle of coves on the mud flats.”
Elmer Davis Lake covers 149-acres in Owen County near Owenton. The lake is now refilling after a drawdown for repair work on the dam. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife conducted a shad eradication on the lake over the winter that Baker said will improve the bluegill and the redear sunfish populations in the lake over the coming years.
“Another good bluegill lake is McNeely Lake in Jefferson County,” Baker said. “It is right in the back yard of a lot of people in the Louisville area. McNeely also has a healthy population of redear sunfish.”
The smaller state-owned lakes offer excellent bank fishing for bluegill as do the 43 Fishing in Neighborhoods (FINs) lakes scattered throughout Kentucky.
If one has access to a boat, Kentucky Lake is arguably the best bluegill lake in Kentucky. The lake holds fantastic numbers of 6- to 8-inch fish with many larger specimens in the population.
Target the back reaches of coves in May on Kentucky Lake. Those with some flooded timber and an overhead canopy make the best spots. Look for freshly swept depressions in the bottom, indicating bluegill nests. You can catch bluegill all day long from spots like this on Kentucky Lake.
In addition to these lakes, farm ponds and subdivision lakes often hold good populations of bluegill. To check the bluegill population at a lake near you, check the annual Fishing Forecast.
Suspending a wiggling redworm impaled on a size 6 Aberdeen hook under a bobber still works extremely well for bluegill, as it has decade after decade. The rig will also fool any redear sunfish nearby.
Feather jigs tipped with a wax worm or a cricket suspended under a bobber also work well for bluegill. If bluegill get finicky, bottom fish a redworm impaled on an Aberdeen hook near weedbeds. You may also pick off a few redear sunfish with this presentation as well.
The bluegill are in the shallows spawning. For those who want to catch fish after fish, there is no comparison.
Credit: KY State Parks
Ten Kentucky State Park golf courses will be participating in the free “Get Golf Ready” day on May 13.
Participating courses will offer guests a free 10-minute golf lesson, hold a putting clinic and provide tours of the facility. The idea is to introduce the game of golf to people who may have never played before.
The following state parks with 18-hole courses will be participating in the Get Golf Ready day:
- Barren River Lake State Resort Park, Glasgow
- Dale Hollow Lake State Resort Park, Burkesville
- General Burnside Island State Park, Burnside
- Grayson Lake State Park, Olive Hill
- Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park, Calvert City
- Lake Barkley State Resort Park, Cadiz
- Lincoln Homestead State Park, Springfield
- My Old Kentucky Home State Park, Bardstown
- Pine Mountain State Resort Park, Pineville
- Yatesville Lake State Park, Louisa
Kentucky State Parks offer excellent golf throughout the state. For more information, visit: http://parks.ky.gov/golf/ For more information about Kentucky State Parks, visit: www.parks.ky.gov
Councilwoman Marianne Butler (D-15) announces the Metro Council’s Budget Public Hearings are scheduled on May 10th and May 16th offering the public two opportunities to comment on the proposed FY 2017- 2018 Capital and Operating Budgets.
“The Committee encourages the public to attend and participate in the budget process;” says Butler. “Over the next two months as we review the proposed budget it is very important to have input and dialogue with not only the departments but the public as well.”
The May 10th public hearing begins at 6:30pm.
The May 16th public hearing begins at 6:00pm.
Both hearings are held in the Council Chambers, 601 West Jefferson Street, 3rd floor.
“Over the next two months the Metro Council plans to have nearly 30 hours of hearings with department directors,” says Kramer. “This is the opportunity for the community to engage with their elected representatives to convey which projects they support or ideas they have for making our budget work better for the people we serve.”
Signups for those wishing to address the Budget Committee begin one hour prior to the start of the hearings on the 3rd floor of City Hall. Speakers are called in order of signup and have up to three minutes to make comments. Written testimony can be turned in during the meeting and occasionally, speakers are asked questions by the Committee members.
The Committee is limiting one designated speaker for each non-profit group per signup. You do not have to be a member of a nonprofit group to speak. The Committee is interested in hearing from anyone in the community on budgetary issues or priorities for Metro Government in the coming Fiscal Year.
Speakers may use the Sixth Street entrance to Historic City Hall.
If you cannot attend but would like to comment on the budget, simply go to the Metro Council webpage at www.louisvilleky.gov and click on the link for the Metro Council Clerk, then click the Contact Us link.
To see the 2017 to 2018 Budget Hearing Schedule click here!
Credit: Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives – Kentucky Public Libraries
Kentucky public libraries recently set a new record for funding commitments from Education Rate (E-rate), a federal program that provides discounts on Internet, telecommunications, and networking equipment for schools and public libraries. For the July 2016 to June 2017 funding year, Kentucky public libraries have a record commitment for $2,083,104 in E-rate funding to be disbursed as they are invoiced for eligible products and services. This is the highest commitment for E-rate funding for Kentucky’s libraries since the program’s inception in 1998.
E-rate discounts provide critical budget relief to public libraries and allow them to spend local tax dollars on other services and programs in their communities. A library’s E-rate funding amount is determined by the area’s poverty level.
Each year, the majority of the state’s public libraries apply for discounts through E-rate that help ensure comparable levels of connectivity nationwide. They complete a competitive bidding process to drive down costs and request 50 to 90 percent discounts based on the poverty level of the local school district. On average, Kentucky public libraries receive an 80 percent discount on Internet, phone service, mobile hotspots for bookmobiles, and upgrades or maintenance for networking equipment such as routers, switches, and wireless access points.
Because filing for the E-rate discounts can be a lengthy and sometimes difficult process for librarians, the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives (KDLA) has provided extensive training in filling out the required forms and one-on-one consultations to librarians since the program’s inception.
“The agency has devoted more resources to E-rate assistance in recognition of greater opportunities and increasing complexity in the application process,” said Terry Manuel, State Librarian and Commissioner for KDLA. “To date, more than $13.7 million in E-rate discounts has been disbursed to Kentucky public libraries.”
Kentucky public libraries also set two new participation records; 103 libraries filed for discounts, up 12 percent compared to the record set last year, and 34 libraries requested networking equipment discounts, up 17 percent.
Manuel praised the efforts of Kentucky’s E-rate libraries. “Nationwide, the number of library applications dropped from FY 2015-16 to FY 2016-17, so Kentucky public libraries’ growth and success with the E-rate program is even more impressive.”
“E-rate has been a boon to the Crittenden County Public Library,” said Library Director Regina Merrick. “As a small, rural county, we receive a large portion of our Internet and telephone service. Therefore, instead of steadily increasing the budget for those line items, we are able to offer free Wi-Fi, eBooks and eMagazines to our customers.”
Telecommunications carriers providing international and interstate service and earning above certain revenue thresholds are mandated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to make universal service contributions to fund the program. The funds come from the universal service charge on every landline phone and mobile phone bill.
For more information on the E-rate program, visit www.usac.org/sl. Kentucky public libraries may request filing assistance by contacting Lauren Abner at the KDLA at lauren.abner@ky.gov or 502-564-1728.
KDLA provides equitable access to quality library and information resources and services, as well as helps public agencies ensure that legislatively mandated documentation of government programs is created, efficiently maintained, and made accessible. For more information on KDLA resources, programs and services visit www.kdla.ky.gov or call 502-564-1753.
