Here’s how much Lexington spends cleaning up homeless camps. Why more money is needed
Lexington will likely need more money and staff to help clean up homeless camps after Kentucky banned outdoor camping in 2024, city officials said Tuesday.
For the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2024, the city spent $51,803 cleaning up 28 homeless camps.
The previous fiscal year — from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024 — it spent $39,278 cleaning up 25 encampments.
But that’s just a small part of Lexington’s budget to target and shelter those who are living outside.
It spent $300,000 last fiscal year and $316,000 this fiscal year on street outreach teams that check on, help and connect people who live outside to services and housing, said Jeff Herron, director of the city’s Office of Homelessness and Prevention and Intervention.
Herron gave a presentation Tuesday on the city’s outreach efforts at a Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council Social Services and Public Safety Committee meeting.
The $316,000 is used to hire care coordinators, housing counselors and peer support specialists. The hours for those street outreach teams also have been expanded as the city has upped its street outreach efforts over the past five years.
The current street outreach team has 40 clients at any given time, Herron said.
Lexington also has seen an uptick in the number of people living outside, according to its annual count. In 2023, there were 38 people living outside. In 2024, there were 82.
“We have seen a significant increase in number of people who are unsheltered,” Herron said. “A more than 100 percent increase.”
The Kentucky General Assembly passed a bill that took effect July 15, 2024, that made camping outside illegal. That means the city’s outdoor camping clean-up and identification of those living outside will need more money in coming years, Herron said.
After the outside camping ban took effect in July, the need to address an outside camp became more pressing due to the threat of people facing fines or jail time, Herron said. But it’s also made street outreach more difficult because it can be tricky to locate and keep contact with individuals who may fear they will be jailed or fined.
“We need to put more resources in this area,” Herron said.
Herron said the office will need a least one additional full-time staff to address homeless camps. The estimated cost will be $85,000, which includes salary plus benefits. That person will also need a city vehicle that will cost $45,000, he said.
Louisville, which has also struggled with outdoor homeless encampments, has 10 people tasked with outdoor encampments, he said. Lexington’s Office of Homeless Prevention and Intervention has three staff members.
The office struggles to manage camp clean ups and its other duties at the same time, Herron said.
Several council members said Tuesday they would support the creation of the new staffer in the next budget.
Councilwoman Jennifer Reynolds said she has heard repeated concerns from constituents about homelessness and homeless camps. There needed to be more resources directed toward homelessness, particularly for those who are living outside, she said.
“I will be in support of this,” said Councilwoman Liz Sheehan, adding a full-time person tasked with camp clean up is needed. It will help free Herron and his staff to tackle other issues, Sheehan said.
Mayor Linda Gorton will present her budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 in April. Council can then make changes to Gorton’s budget proposal.
A final budget must be passed before July 1.
