LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The months-long back and forth concerning next year’s Metro Louisville budget has officially ended.

Louisville Metro Council voted 23-2 Thursday night to approve the 2024 spending plan. Two councilors abstained to due conflicts of interest, and one councilor was absent.

What You Need To Know

  • Louisville Metro Council has approved its 2024 budget

  • This comes two months after first term mayor Craig Greenberg presented his budget proposal 

  • Next year's spending plan invests heavily in street improvements, public safety and park renovations

  • A few of Greenberg's asks were not funded, such as a $6 million investment to subsidized grocery stores in underserved areas

“Very thankful to the members of the Metro Council to have broad bipartisan, unanimous support for this budget,” Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said after the budget’s passage.

Next year’s budged will include a significant investment in road and bridge maintenance.

Louisville Metro Police will get $222 million, which includes a $1 million for an officer recruiting campaign.

It also includes a $15 million dollars investment into an affordable housing fund.

“Regardless of where you live in the community, there is investment inside the Watterson outside the Watterson, in the east end, in the south end, in the west end, whether you love parks or whether you love roads you know there is something for everybody on all fronts,” Metro Council President Markus Winkler said.

This budget also invests in long overdue improvements to city parks. Nearly $5 million has been earmarked for deferred maintenance. A little more than $3 million was also approved for renovations at the Algonquin and Camp Taylor public pools.

“That is remarkable. It is well beyond anything we’ve done, at least in my experience, in my memory, so [I’m] really happy about that,” said Kevin Kramer, metro councilor for District 11.

However, some of Mayor Greenberg’s projects won’t be happening this year. A $6 million investment to subsidized grocery stores in underserved areas like west Louisville was cut.

“We need fresh, affordable, healthy food in every neighborhood in Louisville that’s accessible to the residents,” Greenberg said after the vote. “So we will be working with grocery stores and when there is specific, actionable projects, we’ll be coming back to metro council to have conversations about how to make them a reality.”

St. Stephen Family Life Center in West Louisville won’t be getting $ million for a new facility, and a line item for revitalizing downtown has been cut down from $8 million to $3 million.

A 2024 budget for TARC was also approved, as five councilors voted against it.   

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