OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Louisville Metro Appropriations Committee Meeting - September 2, 2026

Metro Council & Committees — Wednesday, September 2, 2026
BodyLouisville, Kentucky
SessionMetro Council & Committees
DateWednesday, September 2, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 19:05

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Your assets that's usually through funds.

0:02

Um, so the most common is like a donor advised fund.

0:05

But what the I love and what all of the staff at CFL actually have are charitable checking funds.

0:11

It's like a checking account, but it's for your charitable dollars.

0:14

And it's all organized in one place.

0:16

So when I go for tax season, I just log into my little donor portal.

0:20

I pull that list and I can report it out.

0:22

You know, it makes it a lot easier.

0:24

Um, but then on the you know, flip side of that, we do have uh Invest Louisville, which is our impact investing program.

0:31

Basically, through, I mean, research done by our community, there's a two hundred and fifty million dollar wealth gap on racial lines and in Woolville.

0:40

And so Invest Louisville is seeking to close that gap, right?

0:44

And create more opportunity for everybody.

0:46

Okay.

0:47

Um and we do that through loans, uh, debt guarantees, uh, equity, you name it.

0:53

And so that's a cool program.

0:54

I have again we build this a little small.

0:58

Yes, Tawanda.

1:00

And I know her.

1:01

She's a member of my church.

1:02

You're I'm excited before we camera came on.

1:04

You just lit up like you're I know, I love it.

1:06

I'm excited.

1:07

Excited about uh what she's gonna bring and do uh foundation.

1:11

Yeah.

1:12

Everybody gets an off script question.

1:14

Okay.

1:15

And a lot of people that sit there are retire.

1:17

Okay.

1:18

Retire.

1:19

Okay.

1:19

And I don't know what one cat.

1:21

We had we have two cats.

1:23

Uh one of them I got for her.

1:25

And I was like, oh, yeah, he's just like it got that, but he likes me, he doesn't like her anybody else.

1:30

So every night I get there.

3:10

Oh, hey, I gotta send something your way.

3:12

I apologize.

3:13

Do what?

3:13

What is it?

3:14

Um stuff that we had a meeting about the all that ownership.

3:35

Everybody has to do that.

4:58

Hello, I'm Councilman Jonathan Joseph, chair of the appropriations committee.

5:01

This is a regular meeting of the appropriations committee on September 2nd, 2026.

5:06

It is currently 302 p.m.

5:12

Um this meeting is being held pursuant to KRS 61.826 and council rule 5.a with me in chambers uh are Councilman Leninger, Councilman Herndon, Councilwoman Shanklin, and joined virtually by my co-chair uh by my vice chair Marilyn Parker and Marcus Winkler.

5:33

We do have a quorum.

5:35

The first item of business is a CIF appropriating $22,000 from District 10 Capital Infrastructure Fund to Public Works to fund a comprehensive sidewalk survey to evaluate the status of all sidewalks of local Metro Council District 10 for maintenance and repair based on grading status.

5:51

This comes from Councilwoman Raymond.

5:53

Do we have a motion?

5:54

A second, thank you.

5:56

Probably moved.

5:57

Hello.

5:57

Hi.

5:58

Uh justin so for legislative assistant to councilwoman Josie Raymond Metro Council District 10.

6:03

Um you pretty much covered it.

6:05

We are uh facilitating a uh sidewalk site to be done all throughout the district so we can kind of level where the priorities need to be on every sidewalk service and need to wow.

6:16

Does anybody have any questions?

6:19

Councilman.

6:21

Uh so this is just going to be the review.

6:26

This is not going to be putting any money towards the actual maintenance and repair based on the grading.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural███████████████████████████████████████39%
Engineering And Infrastructure████████████████████20%
Fiscal Sustainability█████████████13%
Public Safety████████████12%
Parks and Recreation██████6%
Racial Equity█████5%
Mental Health Awareness█████5%
Summary of Proceedings

Louisville Metro Appropriations Committee Meeting - September 2, 2026

The Appropriations Committee of the Louisville Metro Council met on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, at 3:02 PM in Council Chambers with virtual participation. Chair Jonathan Joseph (R-12) presided. Present were Vice Chair Marilyn Parker (R-18, virtual), Committee Members Barbara Shanklin (D-2), Ken Herndon (D-4), JP Lyninger (D-6), and Markus Winkler (D-17, virtual). Dan Seum Jr. (R-13) was excused. The committee considered eight funding requests totaling approximately $259,775 (original amounts, before amendments). The meeting adjourned at 3:15 PM.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Justin Soforo, Legislative Assistant for Councilwoman Josie Raymond (D-10), presented the $22,000 sidewalk survey for District 10, explaining the survey would prioritize future repairs.
  • Charles Weathers, Legislative Assistant for Councilman Brent Ackerson (D-26), spoke on three items: the $30,000 traffic enforcement overtime ordinance, the $50,000 sidewalk connection project on Hurstbourne Lane, and the $150,000 driver feedback sign installation.
  • Caleb Howard, Legislative Assistant for Councilwoman Barbara Shanklin (D-2), described the $475 weed-eating and spraying project for a t-ball field behind the Boys & Girls Club at 5020 East Indian Trail.
  • Councilman Ken Herndon (D-4) presented the $6,000 (amended) ordinance for the Coalition for the Homeless Project Stand Down/Homeless Connect and the $1,000 appropriation to Families Who Conquer, Inc. for their Well-Being Legacy Lounge event.

Discussion Items

  • Item 1 – CIF090226PW10 ($22,000 for District 10 sidewalk survey): Chairman Joseph clarified the funds cover only the survey, not repairs. Justin Soforo confirmed the survey is separate from Public Works’ normal operations. Lyninger asked about timeline; Soforo said they hope to start quickly.
  • Item 2 – O-238-26 ($30,000 from District 26 NDF for LMPD 6th Division overtime for traffic enforcement): Lyninger raised concerns about prior instances where LMPD canceled overtime funds and whether directing specific enforcement violates separation of powers. Charles Weathers noted the division had accepted the funds and previously provided results (arrests, speeding citations). The motion passed on a roll call: Yes – Joseph, Parker, Shanklin, Herndon, Winkler; Present – Lyninger; Excused – Seum.
  • Item 3 – CIF090226PW26 ($50,000 for Hurstbourne Lane sidewalk connection from Bardstown Road to Taylorsville Road): Lyninger expressed strong support, citing pedestrian safety needs and a personal connection to a past fatality.
  • Item 4 – CIF090226PW26a ($150,000 for 10 driver feedback signs in District 26 for traffic calming): No discussion; approved by voice vote.
  • Item 5 – NDF090226MP02 ($475 for weed-eating and spraying a t-ball field): Caleb Howard explained the overgrowth made the field unusable. Approved by voice vote.
  • Item 6 – O-237-26 (Originally $4,500 from D4, D15, D24, D10 for Coalition for the Homeless; amended to $6,000): Councilman Herndon moved to amend the ordinance to include $1,000 from District 9 (Councilman Owen) and $500 from District 13 (Councilman Seum), bringing the total to $6,000. The amendment passed by voice vote. Herndon noted they hope to raise at least $10,000–$15,000 and honored retiring director Natalie Harris. The amended ordinance passed on a roll call: Yes – Joseph, Parker, Shanklin, Herndon, Lyninger; Absent – Winkler; Excused – Seum.
  • Item 7 – NDF090226FWC04 ($1,000 from District 4 to Families Who Conquer, Inc. for a well-being event on November 1, 2026): Herndon highlighted the event’s focus on mental health services. Approved by voice vote.
  • Item 8 – CIF090226BS17 ($2,300 from District 17 to Brightside, Inc. for repairing the damaged leg on the Fleur de Lis horse statue at Hounz Lane Park): Councilman Winkler (sponsor) appeared virtually but had connectivity issues. No questions; approved by voice vote.

Key Outcomes

  • All eight items were approved either by voice vote or recorded vote.
  • Item 2 (O-238-26) and Item 6 (O-237-26) were sent to Old Business for consideration by the full Metro Council on September 10, 2026. The remaining items were forwarded to the Consent Calendar.
  • Amendment: Item 6 was amended by voice vote to add $1,000 from District 9 and $500 from District 13, increasing the total appropriation to $6,000.
  • Vote tallies:
    • Item 2: 5 yes, 1 present, 1 excused.
    • Item 6 (as amended): 5 yes, 1 absent, 1 excused.
  • Action required by: February 27, 2027 for Items 2 and 6 (ordinances).

Meeting Transcript

Your assets that's usually through funds. Um, so the most common is like a donor advised fund. But what the I love and what all of the staff at CFL actually have are charitable checking funds. It's like a checking account, but it's for your charitable dollars. And it's all organized in one place. So when I go for tax season, I just log into my little donor portal. I pull that list and I can report it out. You know, it makes it a lot easier. Um, but then on the you know, flip side of that, we do have uh Invest Louisville, which is our impact investing program. Basically, through, I mean, research done by our community, there's a two hundred and fifty million dollar wealth gap on racial lines and in Woolville. And so Invest Louisville is seeking to close that gap, right? And create more opportunity for everybody. Okay. Um and we do that through loans, uh, debt guarantees, uh, equity, you name it. And so that's a cool program. I have again we build this a little small. Yes, Tawanda. And I know her. She's a member of my church. You're I'm excited before we camera came on. You just lit up like you're I know, I love it. I'm excited. Excited about uh what she's gonna bring and do uh foundation. Yeah. Everybody gets an off script question. Okay. And a lot of people that sit there are retire. Okay. Retire. Okay. And I don't know what one cat. We had we have two cats. Uh one of them I got for her. And I was like, oh, yeah, he's just like it got that, but he likes me, he doesn't like her anybody else. So every night I get there. Oh, hey, I gotta send something your way. I apologize. Do what? What is it? Um stuff that we had a meeting about the all that ownership. Everybody has to do that. Hello, I'm Councilman Jonathan Joseph, chair of the appropriations committee. This is a regular meeting of the appropriations committee on September 2nd, 2026. It is currently 302 p.m. Um this meeting is being held pursuant to KRS 61.826 and council rule 5.a with me in chambers uh are Councilman Leninger, Councilman Herndon, Councilwoman Shanklin, and joined virtually by my co-chair uh by my vice chair Marilyn Parker and Marcus Winkler. We do have a quorum. The first item of business is a CIF appropriating $22,000 from District 10 Capital Infrastructure Fund to Public Works to fund a comprehensive sidewalk survey to evaluate the status of all sidewalks of local Metro Council District 10 for maintenance and repair based on grading status. This comes from Councilwoman Raymond. Do we have a motion? A second, thank you.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com