Louisville Metro Budget Committee FY 2026-27 Hearings (Day 3): Social Services & External Agencies — May 12, 2026

The Louisville Metro Budget Committee convened on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at 4:17 p.m. for the third day of FY 2026-2027 budget hearings, adjourning at 5:58 p.m. in Council Chambers/virtually. Chair Kevin Kramer (R-11) presided; Vice Chair Markus Winkler (D-17) joined late. Nine of ten committee members were present (Ben Reno-Weber excused). The committee questioned the Office of Social Services (OSS), then the External Agency panels covering EAF social services, violence prevention, and arts grants — with a combined proposed FY27 operating budget of $2.25 million. The Recommended Executive Budget (ID 26-0119) and Budget Hearing Schedule (ID 26-0120) were received as supporting documentation. No formal votes were taken; hearings are information-gathering for budget deliberations.

Office of Social Services Hearing (ID 26-0198)

• Safe and Healthy Streets Initiative: Chair Kramer asked how the mayor's proposed $210,000 addition (second shift and Saturday operations) would work without adding personnel. Assistant Director John Pilbean said the funds support outreach flexibility after traditional work hours — connecting people to shelter and recovery centers, and keeping streets clean — via overtime routes, not new staff.
• Federal grant line volatility: Councilman Piagentini noted the federal grants line moved from roughly $16.76 million (FY26 original) to zero (FY26 amended) to $18.9 million (FY27 proposed). OMB's Aaron Jackson explained this was administrative — the same anticipated awards appear in two financial plans; no money was lost.
• Dare to Care: $3 million is proposed for the hunger relief center expansion, contingent on the agency securing equal or greater matching funds. OMB was asked to confirm whether the match is all-or-none or partial, and the deadline.
• Strategic focus questioned: Piagentini questioned whether financial empowerment (1,300 counseling sessions for 570 clients; more than $1.6 million in personal debt reduced) and outreach/advocacy (415 senior volunteers; 700 fans; 70 AC units) are strategic uses of general funds when free resources and other providers exist. OSS Director Josh Swetnam defended them as parts of an integrated continuum of services, noting outreach/advocacy is largely funded by federal AmeriCorps grants. OSS committed to provide the general-fund allocation offline.
• Association of Community Ministries (ACM): OSS recommended $1.65 million for FY27 (vs. $2.15 million after FY26 amendments) across 13 ministries; 61% of recent ACM funding went to salaries and about 34% to direct assistance. Councilmembers Parker, Winkler, and Chappell raised concerns about salary transparency, opaque reporting, and accountability; OSS noted Neighborhood Places can pass 100% of assistance dollars directly to clients because staff salaries are already in Metro's core budget.
• Opioid funds: Councilwoman Parrish-Wright asked about $8 million-plus in non-recurring opioid funds. Swetnam said $300,000 goes to OSS for the unlawful camping docket diversion program; other opioid funds sit with Housing & Community Development and can be allocated to OSS personnel via grant tags for permanent-supportive-housing case management.
• Arthur Street Hotel: The $250,000 council-added appropriation was used; the organization is at a 75% spend rate, with full spending expected after the final quarter. OSS's Christina Bunch praised their reporting and responsiveness. However, Arthur Street was not recommended for FY27 EAF funding due to panel scores and compliance struggles.
• Eviction prevention & shelter: FY27 eviction prevention totals about $1.7 million ($1.4 million general funds plus $300,000 Community Services Block Grant), down from pandemic-era federal ERAP levels that have been fully expended. Cold-weather hotel stays remain flat at about $1.1 million for FY26 and FY27. Asked about the highest-impact investment for street homelessness and panhandling, Pilbean identified additional 24-hour shelter beds through partner agencies such as Healing Place, St. John's, and Wayside.
• Home for Good: There is no OSS budget line for Home for Good for FY27. Swetnam described it as a mayor's-office-driven initiative to house 250 new people, with OSS as a partner; the HART team is fully under OSS.
• UP for Women and Children / St. John Center: Proposed funding is $45,400 (including $28,000 CDBG) and $192,300 (including $44,000 from OSS), respectively — with the agencies citing reductions of roughly 50% and 43% from FY26, driven by the competitive EAF panel process. Councilwoman Chappell requested a five-year funding history for both organizations.
• Expenditure volatility: Chair Kramer flagged that OSS total expenditures swing from $15.49 million (FY25 actual) to $37.77 million (FY26 original) to $22.995 million (FY26 amended) to $37.9 million (FY27 proposed). OSS/OMB committed to provide a detailed breakdown.
• Councilman Seum asked about a Fairdale Pleatorium staff position; it is recommended for FY27 and is being transferred from Parks & Recreation to OSS.

External Agency Panel Hearing (ID 26-0199)

• Process overview: Jessica Kincaid (Office of Arts & Creative Industries) explained that three agencies administer competitive EAF grants; applications open and close on the same day; external panels of subject-matter experts (at least three reviewers per application) score, average, discuss, and forward recommendations to the mayor's office.
• Scoring disparities: Kincaid said a revised rubric has curtailed outlier scoring; wide disparities are flagged for special discussion, but scores were not changed for the contested organization this cycle.
• Louisville Public Media: Piagentini expressed concern about the government funding a media watchdog organization, calling it a potential conflict of interest. Kincaid said LPM qualifies under arts/media-arts eligibility aligned with the Kentucky Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts; funding supports items like Waterfront Wednesday and local music. Piagentini asked that criteria be refined before the next budget cycle.
• Operating support & the $25,000 floor: Kramer explained the $25,000 minimum grant floor was set to ensure grants support services Metro would otherwise provide; Kincaid clarified that operating support applies only to arts organizations, reflecting post-pandemic struggles with base costs rather than creating new programs.
• Process complaints: Councilwoman Hawkins said council members were told at the last minute about panel service and found the grants portal difficult to navigate. Kramer encouraged members to express interest in panel appointments; OSS offered earlier training and technical assistance.
• IDEAS X Lab / Louisville Folk School dispute: Councilwoman Bast, relaying Councilman Bashawn's (D-25) account, said the panel had voted to reduce IDEAS X Lab to $25,000 and add Louisville Folk School at $25,000, but the final funding list did not reflect that. Kincaid stated the organization scored 32nd out of 43; one panelist advocated strongly, but no score adjustment was made, and the mayor's office declined to override to maintain the integrity of the process, including an EAF policy against partial awards. Susan Durham (Mayor's Office) said guidelines released in January told applicants how grants would be awarded. Deputy Mayor Dana Mayton said the office followed up with Councilman Bashawn and heard different versions of events; they will follow up directly. Councilwoman Chappell defended the arts panel process as thoughtful and thorough.
• Outcome metrics: Piagentini requested a compiled closeout report showing each grantee's goals versus outcomes; staff agreed to explore formatting options.

Key Outcomes

• No motions or votes were taken; both hearings were informational for the FY 2026-2027 budget.
• OSS and OMB committed to providing offline: Dare to Care match mechanics; the general-fund allocation for financial empowerment and outreach/advocacy; the miscellaneous supplies variance; the full expenditure-category explanation; ACM salary and position details; and a five-year funding history for UP and St. John Center.
• The Mayor's Office will follow up directly with Councilman Bashawn on the IDEAS X Lab / Louisville Folk School funding discrepancy.
• Budget hearings continue Wednesday, May 13, at 3:00 p.m., with a public session from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.