Lexington city council adds nearly $1 million to budget. Here’s what’s new
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- Lexington council added $985,424 to boost transit, sidewalks and technology workforce.
- Lextran, the city bus service, received $500,000 for two pilot projects.
- Council approved five additional personnel positions across city departments.
The Lexington city council has added nearly $1 million in funding to Mayor Linda Gorton’s proposed budget to support transportation, technology and pedestrian safety.
The $540.2 million budget, which runs for one year beginning July 1, is the largest in the city’s history, up 7% from two years ago — the first time the budget surpassed $500 million.
“Generally, I think it is a good budget,” Mayor Linda Gorton told the Herald-Leader. “Even though it is a tight budget, it will meet the needs of many people in our community.”
City council added $985,424 to Gorton’s proposed budget. Most of that increase will be paid for with pre-funding, or money carried over from the previous fiscal year.
Here’s what the council has added to the mayor’s original proposal:
▪ $250,000 for Lextran, the city’s bus service, to pilot a micro-transit study.
Micro-transit is essentially a government-funded ride-share service, like Uber of Lyft. Lextran spent $75,000 on a feasibility study last year.
Lextran General Manager Fred Combs said $250,000 is not enough money to support a year-long pilot study, and it is difficult to find partner agencies willing to run a pilot for less than one year. He said to run a successful pilot, Lextran will need more money.
The organization can pursue outside grants, or the council could give the pilot more money.
▪ $250,000 for Lextran’s downtown connector pilot, which would run a bus downtown and in the distillery district from 4 p.m. through midnight on the weekend. The pilot will run from April to October 2026.
“That will give us a lot of information about whether what we need to do going forward, and what the real cost may be,” councilmember James Brown said.
▪ $250,000 in additional funding for a program to connect existing sidewalks and make Lexington easier and safer for pedestrians to navigate.
Gorton included $1 million in funding for the program in her initial proposal. This will increase the total allotment of $1.25 million. There are no specifics on the areas of town that will benefit from the project.
▪ $90,000 to support technology jobs in Lexington.
The addition comes after the city paid $132,860 to TEConomy, an economic development firm, for a study to help increase the local technology-related workforce. That study hasn’t been presented to the council yet, but is scheduled for later this month.
This $90,000 will be earmarked to increase collaboration between technology industry employers and local schools.
Councilmember Dave Sevigny, who proposed the fund addition, said he will seek more money, up to $540,000, later this year to implement more recommendations for TEConomy’s study.
The council also made the following personnel allocations:
▪ $145,424 to create the position of deputy director of accounting, using money from the general fund.
▪ $40,001 to add another social worker to the Fire Department’s Community Crisis Co-Response Team. That money will come from a reduction in the allotted overtime for the fire department, so it won’t affect the total city budget.
▪ $99,923 to increase two part-time horticulturist positions to full-time positions. The city will cut back on contracts to fund these positions, so it won’t affect the total city budget.
▪ $20,160.32 to create a part-time recreation supervisor position for the Black and Williams Community Center. That money will come from reallocated savings later in the year.
“I am always concerned when positions are added because the cost of salaries and benefits will continue in future budgets,” Mayor Linda Gorton said.
Last year, Gorton vetoed personnel expenses added by the council, but that was ultimately overridden.
She doesn’t plan to make any vetoes this year, spokeswoman Susan Straub said.
Council heard the first reading of the budget Tuesday. They will take a final vote Thursday, making the budget official.