Lexington mayor: We need more money for snow plows, park improvements & street safety
Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton Tuesday presented her proposed $539.2 million budget to city leaders.
It includes more money for snow plows, $19.2 million for street safety and a 3% pay increase for non-union employees.
It doesn’t call for tax increases.
The proposed budget is a 2% increase from the current budget, which is $529 million. Of the $539.2 million proposal, personnel expenses account for $336.7 million, or nearly $63% of the city’s budget. The city has more than 3,000 employees.
The budget now goes to the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council for review and adjustments. The deadline to pass a final budget is June 30, and it takes effect July 1 — the start of the next fiscal year
As President Donald Trump’s administration slashes the funding of agencies and grants nationwide, Gorton said the budget was built to reflect no changes in dollars coming from Washington, DC.
“We have not had any word about any cuts to our grants so far. We have a fairly significant amount of federal grants in our budget,” she said in a Tuesday morning interview with the Herald-Leader.
“When we know something, we’re ready to pivot. We’ve looked through all of our federal grants, and we know what we have.”
The city had $30 million in federal grants in fiscal year 2024, but that number can vary dramatically year to year.
The mayor proposed the addition of 16.5 positions, 7.5 of which will staff the new Senior and Therapeutic Center set to open in 2026 at Shillito Park.
Costs are increasing faster than revenue, with a projected 5.6% revenue growth but a 9% projected expense growth. Gorton said the city didn’t cut any programs from the budget.
The budget is balanced with $18 million bonding or borrowing, the smallest debt since the COVID pandemic. That includes $6.2 million for new city, police and road management vehicles, and $3 million to design a new training facility for the Lexington Fire Department.
This is the first time in several years the city will not have any American Rescue Plan Act federal funds, or COVID money.
Gorton said proposing a budget is one of the most important jobs she has as mayor, and she doesn’t take that responsibility lightly.
“Staying the course of responsible fiscal management has brought our community through the significant economic challenges of recent years brought on by the pandemic, and it will get us through the year,” she said.
Councilmember Jennifer Reynolds said Gorton’s proposed budget is “thoughtful” and “comprehensive.”
Councilmember James Brown thanked Gorton for investing in new technology in the budget.
“I appreciate the inclusion of all the council members’ ideas and budget priorities. I think that helps us get off to a good start with the budget,” Brown said. “We’re going to have to invest more in technology, especially (Artificial Intelligence), as opposed to running away from it, because I think it can make our lives easier.”
What will happen with the new Park Tax fund?
The money from the new park tax, passed by voters in the 2024 election, will be available to the city in 2026. The estimated $8 million generated from the tax will be used for capital improvements at city parks.
The projects are spread across the city, with at least one improvement project in each of the city’s 12 council districts.
The money from the tax is not included as part of the general fund budget, because it is marked for a specific purpose by law. However, Gorton has budgeted more money for improvements to the city’s Parks and Recreation Department.
Parks and Recreation follows a Parks Master Plan to be sure the division’s priorities are aligned with city needs. The current plan was put in place in 2018. Gorton budgeted $450,000 to start gathering community input to create an updated Parks Master Plan.
Lexington also will welcome expanded programming to six of the city’s community centers: Charles Young, Castlewood, Dunbar, Kenwick, Tates Creek and William Wells Brown.
The budget also includes money for a recreation supervisor at the newly remodeled Black and Williams Gym.
In addition, the city is expanding after-school programs it runs at Coventry Oak, George Washington Carve and Mary Britton, Gorton said.
City expands budget to plow snowy streets
Gorton’s proposed budget includes $3.4 million to buy more snow plows, salt and Beet Heat for ice-covered streets, plus money to hire more private contractors to clear neighborhood roads.
The investment comes after a cold start to 2025 brought multiple large snow storms, the first of which closed Fayette County Schools for seven days in early January. After that storm, the city spent $1.2 million on snow clean-up.
The mayor’s snow improvements include $1.4 million for snow trucks, $1 million for salt and $600,000 to pay contractors, plus other funding for smaller snow removal equipment.
Even with those investments, the city “can’t guarantee we’re gonna get every neighborhood,” Chief of Staff Tyler Scott said.
Improving street safety in Lexington
The city wants to improve bike and pedestrian safety, with $19.2 million earmarked to make “complete streets,” or streets safe for cars, people and cyclists, in Lexington.
In 2023, 52 people died in car crashes in Fayette County, with 20 of those deaths resulting from a vehicle hitting a pedestrian.
The city council started the STREEET (Shared Travel Requires Engineering, Education & Enforcement of Traffic) Safety Task force earlier this year to help address safety issues across the county.
The mayor has budgeted two staff positions for complete streets, plus the following street improvement projects:
▪ $1 million to connect existing sidewalks with each other.
▪ $400,000 for the sidewalk assistance program, which helps homeowners with sidewalk maintenance.
▪ $500,000 for new traffic lights across the city.
▪ $125,000 for a raised pedestrian crosswalk at the intersection of Market and Short streets.
▪ $400,000 to stripe lanes.
▪ $1 million for sidewalk ramp improvements.
▪ $75,000 to match federal funds for two cyclists paths.
▪ $150,000 to address street safety concerns in neighborhoods.
▪ $14 million for paving.
What else is included in the mayor’s budget
▪ Gorton said the city is exploring ways to leverage Artificial Intelligence to make the government more efficient. The budget includes an Information Security Engineer position to the budget to help increase cybersecurity.
▪ Community Corrections is also looking toward technological innovation, with the implementation of a medical monitoring program at the detention center. The program, which costs $216,000, will be put in the 36 cells of the detention centers medical unit.
It will continuously monitor inmates heart rate, respiration and movement. The system sends an alert to the corrections officers if an issue is detected.
▪ Gorton suggests spending $28.2 million to stop pollution entering city sewers. That money is part of a consent decree issued by the US Environmental Protection Agency and finalized in 2011.
The consent decree came out of a lawsuit filed by the EPA against the Lexington City government in 2006 that required the city spend nearly $600 million dollars to study, design and implement the repair of sewer pipes.
The agreement also requires Lexington to make operational and managerial changes to prevent future problems.
In 2024, the city had about $100 million left of needed improvements to comply with the consent decree. Those updates have to be finished by 2030.
▪ The Office of Homelessness and Prevention will add an encampment coordinator to its staff. Gorton said this addition is not related to the “unlawful camping” law that went into effect in July that criminalizes sleeping or camping in spaces that are not designated for camping — such as on sidewalks or roadsides and in parks, parking lots, garages or doorways.
Gorton said the new position is not a police officer, but a civilian who will try to connect people affected by homelessness to resources available in the city.
This story was originally published April 15, 2025 at 3:33 PM.