THERE. HE BREAKS DOWN THE BUDGET PROPOSAL. PUBLIC SAFETY SPENDING ON POLICE, FIRE AND EMS MAKES UP ROUGHLY 40% OF THE CITY’S $1.1 BILLION BUDGET, BUT. BUT MAYOR CRAIG GREENBERG SAYS THE CITY HAS TO BE MORE COMPETITIVE AND PAY IF IT WANTS TO KEEP THE CITY SAFE. I CAME FROM THE SERVICE INDUSTRY, HOSPITALITY AND FUNDAMENTALLY THE SERVICE BUSINESS IS ALL ABOUT PEOPLE, PEOPLE SERVING OTHER PEOPLE. GREENBERG’S BUDGET INCLUDES 7% RAISES FOR LMPD, WHICH IS SHORT, 260 OFFICERS. THERE ARE 5% RAISES FOR PARAMEDICS AND EMTS, AND $500,000 FOR TARGETED RAISES IN PUBLIC WORKS. THERE’S ALSO A 3% COST OF LIVING INCREASE FOR NONUNION CITY EMPLOYEES. WE HAVE TO BALANCE OUR BUDGET, AND WE’RE NOT RAISING TAXES. THAT’S WHY I’VE INSTRUCTED THE LEADERS OF ALL OF OUR DEPARTMENTS ACROSS CITY GOVERNMENT TO MAKE A MINIMUM 1% CUT IN THEIR LEAST NECESSARY SPENDING. THE PROPOSAL CALLS FOR $32 MILLION TOWARDS HELPING THE HOMELESS AND CREATING MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING. AND WHILE LOUISVILLE METRO HOUSING IS A FEDERALLY FUNDED AGENCY, GREENBERG WANTS TO ALLOCATE $238,000 FOR URGENT NEEDS AT PUBLIC HOUSING, SUCH AS D’OSCAR MANOR. SOME OF OUR MOST VULNERABLE LOUISVILLIANS LIVE IN AND SLEEP IN DANGEROUS ENVIRONMENTS IN DECAYING BUILDINGS WHERE THEY HAVE TO DEAL WITH MOLD AND BUGS AND RODENTS. THAT IS ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE. THERE IS ALSO $50 MILLION FOR ROAD PAVING AND SIDEWALK REPAIRS, 7 MILLION FOR PARKS REPAIRS AND 5 MILLION FOR THRIVE BY FIVE. THE UNIVERSAL PRE-K PROGRAM THE CITY IS CREATING. THE METRO COUNCIL WILL HOLD A SERIES OF HEARINGS OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS AS THEY MAKE CHANGES TO THE MAYOR’S PROPOSAL. THE FISCAL YEAR STARTS ON JULY 1ST, SO THEY HAVE UNTIL THE END OF J