KENTUCKY — With the majority of her first term during the pandemic, Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton said she and her administration set out to ensure three goals: Keep Lexington safe by following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, provide basic services to citizens and ensure Lexington attracts new jobs during the pandemic. 

According to Lexington Police data, the city has 20 total reported murders in 2021 so far. In 2020, there were a total of 34 homicides. Shootings, in general, are also on the rise in Kentucky's second-largest city.

"The attention publicly is frequently for the devastating news. And we are seeing some little, tiny glimmers of goodness. At the end of June, 12.6% fewer shots fired than the same time in 2020, that's good news. And overall in the same time period, violent crime is down almost 4%. Now, the homicides are up, and our police do a very good job of investigating these homicides. They rely on information from the public because frequently the public knows something about many of them are people who are retaliating against people who've done something, you know, they didn't like. And we have an issue of folks from Detroit coming here with guns and drugs. And we're at that intersection of the interstates that makes us a good place for those people with negative influences to come here. I put two police recruit classes in the current budget, so we're in the middle of one recruit class and the second one will start in December. I increased our sworn authorization by six officers who will be the Neighborhood Resource Officers, and we are in conversation with police and others about some creative ways to look at the shots fired," explained Gorton

Also, the period for public input on how Lexington should spend the $120 million it is receiving from the federal government through the American Rescue Plan Act just ended. During this In Focus Kentucky, Gorton explained what the next steps are in the process and shares how the money will be allocated.

"We're expecting $120 million for Lexington-Fayette County. And this is federal money, so it comes with lots of rules and lots of reporting requirements. All of that money has to be designated for projects by the end of 2024, and it has to be spent by the end of 2026. So I have worked in concert with the council to have a very transparent process, where the public can weigh in and tell us what they think we should spend the money on. So, I have held four Town Hall forums, and we've had lots of people attend and give us their ideas which are extremely varied, and people from all over town have come," added Gorton.