Lexington mayor raising money for shelters for victims, children cut from city budget
Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton is spearheading efforts to raise money for some social service agencies that were cut from her proposed $372 million budget.
Gorton cut $2.1 million in grants that typically go to a host of social service agencies through a competitive grant program called extended social resource grants. Agencies that received funding through that grant program include The Salvation Army, which runs a shelter for women and children, Arbor Youth Services, a shelter for children, and GreenHouse17, the only domestic violence shelter in Fayette County.
Many of those shelters have said without city funding they may have to curtail services or staff hours.
“Lexington’s budget for next year has been crippled by a $40 million shortfall because of fallout from COVID-19. Although we provided considerable funding in the budget that helps citizens who are most in need of assistance, we could not fund an additional $2.1 million in extra grants to social service agencies,” Gorton said. “As I said in my budget address just last week, this is an important opportunity for citizens who can afford to help these agencies and the people who depend upon them.”
Gorton said Lexington businesswoman Ann Bakhaus and the Blue Grass Community Foundation have stepped forward to help the city raise funds for several key social service agencies cut from the budget. In addition to the three shelters, the other agencies that will be targeted for fundraising efforts include: The Children’s Advocacy Center of the Bluegrass, AVOL Kentucky and NAMI Lexington.
Gorton said an anonymous donor has already stepped forward to provide $237,000 to Arbor Youth Services. The only shelter in the state of Kentucky that serves children under the age of 8 has typically received $237,000 from the city in the past.
“Our citizens are already stepping forward, beginning with funding for Arbor Youth Services! A generous, anonymous donor contacted me and pledged $237,000,” Gorton said. “ I’m not surprised. Our city is just a great place and our citizens are generous. We take care of each other.”
But there are other social service agencies that were cut from the budget that typically receive money through the extended social resource grants. Some of those agencies include: Community Action Council, which runs the only program for homeless families; The Lexington Rescue Mission, which runs felon re-entry programs and food services for low-income families and Gods Food Pantry.
Gorton said in a written release due to limited resources the city has to focus fundraising efforts on critical services.
Gorton said she will announce details on how to give to the new fund this week. “We are moving quickly to get the word out, and to build on our first gift,” Gorton said.
Gorton’s announcement comes on the same day the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council will start deliberations on possible changes to Gorton’s budget proposal for the fiscal year that begins July 1. In addition to $6 million in cuts to state agencies, Gorton’s proposed budget includes more than $12.5 million in cuts across city government.
During an April 28 meeting, several council members expressed reservations about the cuts to the social service agencies. Those agencies are serving people who are most affected by the downturn in the economy.
Vice Mayor Steve Kay has said he supports either tapping more of the city’s savings accounts to fund those agencies or a slight increase in the payroll tax to fund not only social service agencies but critical city services.
