Gorton: Restoring cuts to Lexington shelters, housing top priority for COVID-19 relief money
Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton said Tuesday that restoring funding to shelters, social service and affordable housing programs is her top priority when the city finally receives federal coronavirus stimulus money.
Gorton said the city was notified last week that it will receive some funding through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act.
It is not known exactly how much money the city will receive for COVID-19 related expenses. The city will be reimbursed for those costs through that program. The reimbursement money will then go back into the general fund which can be used to fund other programs.
At a press conference Tuesday, Gorton said she would like the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council to prioritize restoring funding to the following programs:
- Restoring funding to social service agencies
- Restoring funding the city’s affordable housing program
- Restoring funding the city’s Office of Homeless Prevention and Intervention
- Restoring money to the city’s rainy day fund
The city is still not clear on what types of expenses qualify for federal COVID-19 stimulus funding. That’s why it’s not yet known how much money will be reimbursed to the city and how much money can be used to plug holes in the city’s budget.
“Even so, I felt it was clear to establish priorities now,” said Gorton.
Gorton and other city and state leaders have pushed federal officials for additional federal funding after state and local tax revenues plummeted in the past few months due to coronavirus-related job losses.
Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell said Tuesday it’s not yet clear if there will be a second round of stimulus money for local and state governments.
“We’ve already appropriated $150 billion for state and local government, the secretary of the treasury has defined the way that can be used rather broadly for coronavirus-related expenses,” McConnell said at a press conference in Lexington on Tuesday. “ It includes, for example, at the local level things like police and fire, so it’s a pretty broad interpretation.”
McConnell said states have already received a lot of money for coronavirus-related expenses.
“All the governors, regardless of party, would like to have additional assistance, but I would remind everybody that we have sent a significant amount of money to the states already, about $1.8 billion to Kentucky.”
Gorton’s announcement comes just two days before the Lexington council resumes deliberations on possible changes to Gorton’s proposed budget. Restoring cuts to housing and social service agencies has been one of the council’s top concerns.
Social service groups and housing advocates have criticized the cuts and have pushed the council to restore that funding.
For the fiscal year that begins July 1, the city is estimating a revenue shortfall of more than $40 million due to coronavirus-related job losses and business closures.
On April 28, Gorton proposed a $372 million budget that included more than $12 million in cuts across city government and $6 million in cuts to outside agencies and groups, including cutting $3.2 million from the extended social resources program. That program gives grants to nonprofits, including shelters for domestic violence victims and women and children.
Gorton has spearheaded fundraising efforts to raise money for some social service agenices. That fundraising effort has resulted in more than $250,000 in donations.
Gorton’s budget proposal also uses more than $30 million in funds from various city savings accounts.
Gorton’s original budget slashed funding to the affordable housing fund by $1.8 million. It was created in 2014 and typically receives an annual appropriation of $2 million a year. The program received $200,000 that it can couple with $400,000 to fund at least one new project. Gorton said Tuesday she hopes that there will be enough reimbursement money to fund at least one other affordable housing project.
The city’s Office of Homeless Prevention and Intervention was also cut. It received $350,000. It typically receives $750,000. Programs that could be axed if funding isn’t restored include the city’s panhandling van, which pays panhandlers to pick up trash rather than beg on city streets.
On Tuesday, Gorton said she did not want to make cuts to those programs but because of the city’s dire financial situation, felt that it was necessary.
“It was not the kind of budget I wanted to present; it was the kind of budget the times demanded,” Gorton said. “With some federal assistance, we can do better.”
Many on the Lexington council, which is currently debating changes to Gorton’s budget proposal, wanted to restore funding to some of those social service programs, arguing now was not the time to slash funding to agencies that serve the most vulnerable when nearly one in four Fayette County residents was out of work.
Gorton said Tuesday the council could temporarily use some money from reserves to fund social service agencies cut until the city receives its reimbursement from the state. Or, the council could wait until later this summer or early fall when the total reimbursement amount is known before moving forward with restoring funds to those programs.
“Our budget this year is a moving target,” Gorton said. “We will have to be both flexible and creative in how we make our finances work.”
The council will resume budget deliberations Thursday.
This story was originally published May 26, 2020 at 12:58 PM.
