LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer unveiled a proposed $986 million Fiscal Year 2022 budget Thursday with a focus on "re-imagining public safety."
What You Need To Know
- Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer presented his proposed budget to Metro Council Thursday
- Nearly $20 million is set aside for public safety, an increase of 325%, according to the city
- $20 million would go towards street paving
- The budget also reflects an emphasis on economic recovery and equity, the mayor said
The nearly $20 million for public safety represents a 325% increase in funding, according to information provided by the city.
The funding is not just for law enforcement, Fischer said.
“This budget expands the concept of public safety beyond policing, so it includes social workers, it includes community mobilization, it includes preventing young people from getting involved with crime in the first place,” he said.
More than $500,000 is set aside for the Group Violence Intervention Initiative and more than $750,000 would go to the Office of Inspector General, according to the proposal. That office will work with the newly-formed Civilian Review and Accountability Board to review the police department.
Fischer's budget also emphasizes an investment in Black and brown-owned businesses, according to Fischer.
"It’s increased grants, it’s more loans, it’s investments in accelerators, it’s investment in capacity, so people know what the businesses are,” he said.
Fischer's proposal includes $2.7 million in Small Business Assistance and $20 million for street paving.
The budget does not include the $430 million expected from the federal government through the American Rescue Plan, Fischer said.
“We can expect to see this budget that we’re presenting today amended by some of the American Rescue Plan dollars coming in," he said.