Friday December 5, 2025
Local Connection
Weather
Traffic
@LouisvilleDispatch
@LouisvilleDisp
SubscribeLouisville Metro Government ended the 2015-2016 fiscal year with a $6.2 million surplus, and Mayor Greg Fischer proposes spending the bulk of those dollars to battle the spike in gun violence. That includes hiring 28 additional police officers; $2.1 million for targeted violence reduction strategies, such as a new Street Intervention Specialists team; and expansion of the SummerWorks program and graffiti removal efforts.
“We are in the midst of a public health and safety crisis that requires our focused attention and resources,” Mayor Fischer said. “This spending plan targets our resources at both long- and short-term approaches.”
In an ordinance submitted to Metro Council today, the Mayor earmarks $700,000 to bring on the additional officers over the next six months, and $2.1 million for violence reduction, including Louisville Metro Police enforcement efforts, and the city’s Office for Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods’ work addressing prevention, intervention and re-entry.
“With this allocation, we are asking our teams what resources they need to get the job done, and we are providing those resources,” the Mayor said.
(Learn more about public safety in Louisville)
For the spending plan to be enacted and the public safety enhancements implemented in early 2017, Metro Council must approve the plan this month.
Council President David Yates said today that, “Public safety continues to be an immediate and primary focus of concern. The Louisville Metro Council supports investing in ways to decrease violence in our community.”
And David James, chairman of the council’s Public Safety Committee, said: “I am very pleased to be working with the Mayor and his administration as we utilize some of our budget surplus funds to work together on enhanced violence reduction efforts.”
The 28 new police officers are in addition to the 122 the city is hiring in the current fiscal year – bringing the total number of recruits to the city’s maximum annual capacity of 150 – the most police officers hired by the city in a single year since city-county merger.
The Office for Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods will coordinate the Street Intervention Specialists team — contractors hired to work directly on the street to disrupt violence. The office’s other efforts range from prevention programs like “Peace Ed;” intervention programs like “Pivot to Peace;” and re-entry efforts like Right Turn and ReImage.
Fischer is also proposing to relocate some LMPD staff to the Metro Employee Wellness Center Building at 400 South First St.
The administration had initially considered moving all of LMPD headquarters but is postponing that move until the next budget cycle. Instead, only those affected by significant plumbing and other issues are being moved now.
“We’ve made the decision to use the surplus to address the most pressing needs, and violence intervention is THE most pressing need,” the Mayor said.
The surplus was realized through improved revenues and professional expense management, Fischer said, reflecting an efficient and effective government.
“We can credit an improved economy and sound departmental stewardship, as well as required accounting adjustments as the city progressed through its routine financial audit for the fiscal year that ended on June 30,” agreed CFO Daniel Frockt. The auditors are still finalizing their work, which will result in the release of the city’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) in late December.
Here is a summary of the Mayor’s proposed spending of the $6.2 million surplus:
- Violence intervention strategies, $2.1 million
- Hiring of 28 LMPD officers, $700,000
- Moving some LMPD staff, $50,000
- Additional expenses for Metro Corrections, due to high inmate count, $665,000
- Expanding SummerWorks to hire 40 teens for the summer, $100,000
- Hiring of a Chief Equity Officer and staff, $115,000
- Additional personnel for graffiti removal/Clean and Bright team, $110,000
- Recruitment and retention efforts for Metro Parks front-line employees who clean parks and mow grass, $350,000
- Purchasing an additional 3,000 garbage carts for citizens, $160,000
- Increasing Rainy Day Fund by $1.8 million
Louisville residents are invited to bring unneeded documents and prescription drugs to be shredded and disposed of at a free event on October 29, 2016. The Drug Toss/Shredding Event is sponsored by Metro Public Works, Metro Police, and Metro Council.
Citizens can protect themselves from identify theft and divert unused medications from the waste stream or misuse by bringing items to:
1032 Phillips Lane, across from the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center
Saturday, October 29, 2016
9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Businesses may not participate in this event. All paper materials will be shredded on site and recycled. Shredding donated by the Louisville Branch of Shred-It Louisville. The Drug Toss will be done as a drive-through event.
Black out all personal information on all medication containers that will be tossed. For safety reasons, we cannot accept sharps, needles, lances, cosmetics, personal care or hygiene items. Medication products should never be flushed down the toilet or drain, burned in the open or thrown in the trash because they can contaminate the environment if they get into the drinking and ground water.
Additional tips to prevent identity theft:
- Do not keep Social Security cards in wallet or purse
- Do not put bills or checks in home mailbox for pickup
- Check credit reports, bank statements and credit card statements often for irregularities
- Shred all documents with personal information
- Never give personal information to someone on the phone, internet or email claiming to be your bank
- Do not store credit card numbers on shopping websites
CodeRED is Out, Smart911 is In
In the past, residents of the Greater Louisville Area and Kentuckiana have been able to sign up to receive emergency notifications by email, text, or phone calls through a service called CodeRED. During emergency situations, subscribers would receive notifications with details about the emergency along with instructions for what to do such as shelter in place or evacuate.
CodeRED’s coverage of the Louisville area will officially terminate tomorrow night, August 16, at midnight and currently subscribed citizens will no longer receive area alerts from that service. Area residents will still be able to receive alerts, although it requires action.
The new service that will provide emergency alerts involving the Louisville Metro Area is LENSAlert – with LENS short for Louisville Emergency Notification System. This service is provided through the Smart911 framework.
Those wishing to do so can sign up for LENSAlert by visiting the subscription page here.
Hazmat crews are on scene in the 600 block of Main St where a chemical leak is spilling ammonia.
A shelter-in-place has been ordered for the NuLu area within the borders of I-65 and Witherspoon, Clay, and Market Streets.
Louisville MetroSafe/EMA issued the following:
THERE HAS BEEN A RELEASE OF A HAZARDOUS MATERIAL AT 609 EAST MAIN STREET. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT IS ASKING THAT PERSONS EAST OF I 65 NORTH OF MAIN STREET AND EAST TO CLAY STREET TO SHELTER IN PLACE AT THIS TIME.
Credit: Louisville Metro Police
Security has been increased at the Humana Waterside Building and the FBI has been called in to handle the investigation. Some employees found graffiti on the floor in a bathroom. Exact details of the incident have not been released.
Several Humana employees reportedly said that the message referenced the attack in Orlando and suggested a similar type of attack will occur in here in Louisville. Many employees were allowed to go home.
LMPD and the FBI are working together to determine if this is a hate crime. John E. Kuhn, the US attorney for the Western District of Kentucky stated that they first need to identify the culprit before they can determine the actual extent of the threat.
Last night, Louisville mayor Greg Fischer proposed the budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The overall budget is $822 million, which reflects an increase from last year due to an improving local economy. The city says they are anticipating a 4%, $20 million, increase in revenue this year.
58% of the budget is dedicated to public safety and related agencies. This approximately $475 million will be used to hire new firefighters and new metro police officers. Some will go to replacing city vehicles, such as police cars, ambulances and snow plows. $300,000 will be used to add more public cameras to the city and $640,000 will used to pay metro police officers working in areas where crime is higher overtime.
$20 million will be used to repave streets and roads in the city with no word at this time on which roads will be improved. There is also $500,000 set aside to increase the number of bike lanes throughout the city. $100,000 will be used to redesign parts of Broadway and $1 million will be used to purchase vacant and abandoned properties.
Other points of interest are $4 million which will be used for repairs at Slugger Field, $1 million for repairs at the Louisville Zoo, a 2% raise for non-union city employees and $6.1 million to upgrade computers and software for the city government.
The entire budget proposal can be viewed on the City of Louisville website. Anyone wishing to comment on the budget will have the opportunity on Wednesday, June 1st at 5:00 PM. The meeting will be held in the Council Chambers, which are located at 601 West Jefferson Street. Sign-ups will begin at 4:00 PM on the third floor of City Hall. Speakers will be given 3 minutes to make comments and may submit a written statement as well. For more information on the meeting, you can contact Tony Hyatt at 502-574-4137 or Stephen Haag at 502-574-1204.
Local officials are warning of a more dangerous mix of drugs circulating on Louisville streets, leading to more drug overdoses. Louisville Metro Police had to administer the drug Naloxone to reverse drug overdoses 43 times during the first 12 days of March compared to 26 times for the entire month of February and only seven times during January.
“This represents a 65 percent increase in March and the month is not yet half over. It’s important that the community, especially the families and friends of drug users, know this,” said Louisville Metro Police Chief Steve Conrad.
“While this information is still preliminary, because we don’t yet have toxicology results, through March 9, we have had 34 overdose deaths that appear to have been related to heroin use, as compared to 13 for the same period last year. This represents a 162 percent increase compared to last year,” said Conrad.
Jefferson County Coroner Dr. Barbara Weakley Jones pointed to a rise in the drugs fentanyl and gabapentin in the bloodstreams of people dying from drug overdoses. “It takes between four and six weeks for us to get blood lab results back so we don’t have confirmed results for February and March of this year,” said Dr. Jones. “However, in the last quarter of 2015 and in January of this year, we saw increasing numbers of overdose deaths in which we found fentanyl and gabapentin.”
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid first developed in 1959, similar to but more potent than morphine. Mixing fentanyl with street heroin markedly amplifies the potency and potential dangers. Effects include: euphoria, drowsiness/respiratory depression and arrest (death), nausea, confusion, constipation, sedation, unconsciousness, coma, and addiction.
Similarly, gabapentin, also known as by its brand name Neurontin, is a drug with legitimate uses, such as for the control of seizures. Like fentanyl, it can amplify the potency and lethality when mixed with street opioids.
“Heroin is dangerous. The potency is always changing,” said Dr. Sarah Moyer, interim director of the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness. “Every time someone injects heroin they run the risk of overdosing and dying, Family members and friends of those using drugs should direct their loved ones to the Louisville Metro Syringe Exchange, where their loved ones can get safe injection supplies, access to the medical system, and referral to drug treatment.”
Russ Read of the Kentucky Harm Reduction Coalition said that his organization distributes free Naloxone kits and conducts free training on how to use them. Naloxone can reverse the effects of a drug overdose and prevent death. The free kits and training are available to the general public. The next training will take place tomorrow, Tuesday, March 15 from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Department of Public Health and Wellness located at 400 E. Gray St.
