Mayor Craig Greenberg said his proposed budget for 2026 looks to build off of Louisville’s success in reducing gun violence, building more affordable housing and addressing maintenance of public parks.
The $1.2 billion spending plan is roughly $100 million larger than the current year budget. About half of that increase comes from higher than expected revenues in the current fiscal year, leading to a $50 million budget surplus. In his speech Thursday, focused on “priorities, progress and performance,” Greenberg said the surplus presents an opportunity to double down on improving neighborhoods across Jefferson County.
He told the dozens of city employees and managers in the audience, as well as the 26 Metro Council members, that the city needs to “show more progress, faster.”
“While I’m pleased with the results, I’m also impatient,” he said. “We have more work to do and we have to move faster.”
Greenberg, who plans to run for re-election next year, said improving public safety and first responder agencies remains his top priority going into the new fiscal year. But his decision not to include funding for a police training center, a top priority for many Metro Council members, may be a point of contention in the coming weeks.
Public safety is ‘the foundation’
Greenberg’s proposed budget includes more funding for staffing at the Louisville Metro Police Department, Louisville fire and emergency medical services.
He also wants to hire medical professionals to work in the 911 call center to help deal with calls that may not need a response from EMTs. It’s part of the city’s plan to improve response times and manage an understaffed Emergency Medical Services agency.
Greenberg is also asking Metro Council to fund new license plate readers and CCTV cameras across the county, as well as a new drone program he said would aid first responders during fires and hostage standoffs.
“Public safety is the foundation for everything we do in Louisville Metro Government,” he said. “Every person in Louisville should feel safe and be safe in every neighborhood in our city, and we need to back that up with where we invest our resources.”
The mayor argued that previous city investments in enforcement and violence prevention have paid off. Homicides are down roughly 30% compared to this time last year, while the number of non-fatal shootings is down 28%.
Greenberg is proposing growing LMPD’s budget by 12%, from $228,000 this year to $255,000 in the fiscal year starting July 1. Spending on the police department is the largest line item in Louisville’s budget each year.
Spending on non-police responses to gun violence through the city’s rebrandedrebranded Office of Violence Prevention, formerly OSHN, would remain mostly flat. The proposed budget would give the agency $350,000 in additional funding for a program focused on targeting middle school-aged children with anti-violence messaging, called Get Ready.
While the Greenberg administration is proposing to put $8 million toward future phases of the police headquarters renovations downtown, he is not calling for any funding for a new training facility for first responders.
LMPD presented Metro Council with a plan for the facility, but Greenberg decided not to set aside money for the project at this time. Instead, the administration administration planss to ask the Kentucky General Assembly to chip in for construction costs.
This was one of the few areas of disagreement that Metro Council leaders pointed out in a press conference following Greenberg’s address.
District 19 Council Member Anthony Piagentini, who chairs the Republican Caucus, said Louisville would have an easier time making the case for state funding if it showed the training facility was one of its top priorities.
“It is not the right thing to do to say, ‘We should just wait on the General Assembly’ … to hope they fund something this city needs desperately,” he said. “We need to be fiscally responsible for the things that we need to manage and obligate.”
Metro Council leaders from both the Republican and Democratic parties were largely complimentary of the budget priorities Greenberg laid out in his speech, but said they wanted a chance to comb through the proposal before passing final judgement. The devil will be in the details, they said.
Development, affordable housing also top the list
The Greenberg administration is also hoping the budget will get it closer to the goal of building 15,000 affordable housing, a feat the mayor promised while on the campaign trail three years ago.
The spending plan includes $15 million for the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, the same level of funding as this year, as well as funding for St. Vincent de Paul and The Healing Place to add beds at 24/7 shelters.
In his speech, Greenberg pitched access to safe and affordable housing as a public safety investment, too.
“Ultimately, it’s about stability,” he said. “And there’s no greater foundation for stability than having a place to call home.”
His budget includes $1 million for a second phase of a modular home demonstration. Last year, the city partnered with modular home builder MMY to construct affordable houses on lots in two Metro Council districts. The funding would allow MMY to build one modular home in each of the 24 other districts.
There’s also funding to improve public infrastructure, like sidewalks, underpasses and underground utilities, near Louisville Slugger Stadium downtown. The city is hoping developers will move forward with a plan to build apartment and retail buildings on what is currently a stadium lot.
The 229-page budget includes details on an array of proposed programs, big and small, such as a $1 million matching grant for new public library books and a $2 million artificial intelligence pilot program to make permitting and other city functions more efficient.
It will ultimately be up to Metro Council to decide what items to leave in, what to cut and what to add to the final budget.
Council members will receive presentations from department heads and nonprofits in the coming weeks to help them figure it all out. A public comment meeting is also scheduled for May 22 and an online feedback form will be open through June 9.
Metro Council is expected to take a final vote on the 2025-26 budget by the end of June.
This story was updated.
