LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville could soon see more police cars on the road.

The city’s mid-year budget adjustments is providing additional funding to Louisville’s facilities and fleet management.

What You Need To Know

  • $425,000 from the budget surplus is going to Louisville’s Facilities and Fleet Management 

  • Fleet management services most of Metro Government's vehicles

  • The extra money will hire four more four more technicians and a night supervisor

  • More hires will help get vehicles in and out of the facility faster and back on Louisville streets

Fleet services work on most of the city’s vehicles, including Louisville Metro Police and Public Works.

Louisville’s Facilities and Fleet Management works on thousands of city vehicles a year.

“I’ve been here almost seven years now, and it is the busiest I’ve ever seen it,” said Brandon Jones, a mechanic for Louisville Fleet Management.

Jones worked at a car dealership for 16 years, but he said he wanted something more. Now he is a mechanic for the city.

“Here, you’re working on emergency vehicles, you’re working on cop cars, you’re working on, you know, keeping police on the road and helping others, so that I feel a real purpose here now,” he said.

Jones said he worked on about five cars today, but other days he’ll spend an entire shift working on a single vehicle because it needs extra attention; either way, he said they are facing a backlog.

“We could almost use 10 to 15 more guys just to keep up with the flow,” Jones said, “I mean, we get slammed in here sometimes.”

Last week, Metro Council approved the mid-year budget adjustments proposed by Mayor Craig Greenberg, D-Louisville. The adjustments include $425,000 for Louisville’s Facilities and Fleet Management. That’ll go to hiring four more technicians and a night supervisor.

“We have our ups and downs, you know, busy season. Anytime the weather changes, sometimes we get busy; but overall, it’s going to help a lot. It’ll be an increased productivity for us,” said Claude Jeffries, fleet manager.

That increased productivities Jeffries said will help get more Louisville Metro Police cars out on the road.

On Nov. 18 in a news conference, Greenberg said, “We need more police officers patrolling our neighborhoods and this investment will help make that happen. Seeing more police cars out on our streets, patrolling neighborhoods is a top concern that I hear from residents all across our city.”

Greenberg said LMPD buys about 100 vehicles a year and they all come through this shop to get ready for duty. 

The budget surplus is $16.5 million in total.

Greenberg said that money comes from investments the city made and didn’t budget for until now.

The Louisville Fire Department and affordable housing are among the other recipients of the budget surplus.

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