Government Oversight/Audit and Appointments Committee Meeting - August 18, 2026
Government Oversight/Audit and Appointments Committee Meeting - August 18, 2026
The Government Oversight/Audit and Appointments Committee met on August 18, 2026, at 5:08 PM in Council Chambers and virtually. Chair Donna Purvis presided with 9 members present (one excused). The committee considered five appointments and held a special discussion on housing accountability. Two pending legislation items remained held.
Consent Calendar
- Appointment of Danita Cheatham to the Deputy Sheriff Merit Board (term expires June 13, 2027) – recommended for approval by voice vote.
- Appointment of Renesha Martin to the Human Relations Advocacy Board (term expires September 30, 2027) and Reappointment of Yvonne Jones to the same board (term expires September 30, 2029) – considered together and recommended for approval by voice vote.
- Appointment of Daniel Corrie Shull to the Kentuckiana Works – Greater Louisville Workforce Development Board (term expires June 30, 2029) – recommended for approval by voice vote.
- Appointment of Dr. Kaveh Zamanian to the Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau Board (term expires August 16, 2029) – recommended for approval by voice vote.
Discussion Items
- Housing Accountability (ID 26-0646): Chair Purvis raised constituent complaints about contractors used for city-funded home repair programs, citing a case where a home was allegedly left in worse condition. She questioned contractor vetting, work monitoring, payment processes, and accountability. Jeff O’Brien (Economic Development), Laura Grabowski (Housing and Community Development), and Donald Robinson (Codes & Regulations) responded. They explained that historically, Metro contracted directly with vetted private contractors, but the program is shifting to a subrecipient model using nonprofit partners like New Directions Housing and Habitat for Humanity. They stated that over the past three years, approximately 300 home repair cases were handled, with only five formal complaints reaching the Office of Client Services. Inspectors take before and after photos, and final inspections occur before payment. In unresolved disputes, cases may be referred to Metro Risk Management. Committee Member Hawkins praised the responsiveness of codes staff and sought clarification on contractor oversight and complaint resolution pathways.
- Code Enforcement Procedure: Councilman Piagentini inquired about procedures for entering rental properties, emphasizing constitutional due process. Director Robinson outlined the process: officers attempt contact, issue violation notices, and use plain-view observations. If no contact is made, officers post notices and return. Tenants can grant access, but citations are issued to property owners. Piagentini expressed support for respecting property rights.
- Rental Property Inspection Statistics: Hawkins asked about Section 8 rental inspection deficiencies. Robinson reported that from January 1 to July 31, 2026, codes attempted 4,140 initial occupancy inspections: 1,638 failed, 2,031 passed. Many failures were due to new smoke detector requirements (one per room per HUD's Inspire system). Life-safety issues must be corrected within 48 hours; minor items within 30 days. Non-compliance is referred to LMHA for further action. Robinson did not have average deficiency counts per rental property on hand but offered to provide them.
Key Outcomes
- O-009-26 (SAFE Law – police department policies) remained held in committee.
- O-161-26 (Debt Service Adjustment) remained held in committee per request of sponsors Reed and Piagentini.
- All five appointments were recommended for approval and will be placed on the Consent Calendar for the Metro Council meeting on August 27, 2026.
- No formal action was taken on housing accountability, but the committee directed staff to continue addressing contractor complaints and improve communication with homeowners and council offices.
- The meeting was adjourned at 5:58 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Set up silo tanks and be able to use a different basis so people can have access to that safe water, access to that disinfectant using a machine that's not tearing up the roads, or if the roads are torn up, they can travel there easily. Hopefully, very soon Kentucky will embrace this officially this mobile water treatment plan. Lieutenant Hogan was wearing his department issued body worn camera. However, his camera was not activated during the incident. Also, and whether that use of deadly force is within policy. So you have kind of three things going on. Did he violate policy regarding the use of force? Was the use of force justified? So those are three um issues that our PIU unit as well as our professional standards unit will be looking into during this investigation. Finally, if anyone witnessed this incident, has any information, has any surveillance video, cell phone video of this incident, we urge them to call 574 LMPD and give us that information that could help with this investigation. We recently partnered with Citywide Software to launch a new rental housing website that brings local listings into one easily searchable place. They've been looking forward to this for a long time. Roller skating is more than just putting on a pair of skates and rolling around in a circle a million times. It's about self-expression, mental, physical, well-being, all that you can think of. You forget about your beals being late when you're roller skating because you're free. You're in a moment of just freedom, pure blitz. So I just want to say thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. Lanham Park had been a forgotten treasure here in the Portland community. And uh throughout the last few years, we've made some um enhancements to the park. I'm so proud to see Lannham Park has been put back on the map again uh for our families to endure. I was overwhelmed by the sacrifice that families had made and what families were struggling with. And to see what USA Care's was doing with and for those families was overwhelming. The statistics say about 22 veterans a day commit suicide. We have eight caseworkers to cover the entire country. I only reason five because he was speaking to her. Yeah, in our body. He said this is right. The last one, I don't know if you don't think it's a bit much. Yeah, yeah. So I think that it was crazy and then look at the fine. I got that so well, decided to pop it out. She's a simple head. I'll gladly get you. No, I don't know. Oh no, no, but wait a minute. I told them I don't think one there. I haven't they don't know why. Are we waiting? Yes, sir. One moment. I am I'm I'm going to give you an update in just a second. But we are maybe we're just waiting for a second. I got your executive section. Let's call decision right here. Um I'm joined in chambers today by Councilman Herndon. Councilman Owens. Councilman Piagettini. I am joined virtually by Councilwoman Paula McCraney, Councilwoman Hawkins, Councilman Bretcher, Councilwoman Jenny Murray Woodrich. We do have a quorum. And um you want to go ahead and read your disclaimer.
openpublica.com