The financial picture for America's cities has been challenging for years.
Rapidly rising health-care and pension costs put pressure on government budgets even before the current recession caused business profits to fall and Louisville’s jobless rate to soar, as shown above, leading to a decline in revenue to city government.
In fact, revenues coming in to the city in this current budget year declined by about 2 percent from the previous fiscal year for the first time since Metro Government was formed in 2003. Another revenue drop of about 1.3 percent is forecast in the coming year.
“Never in all my years in this community have I seen more families, business people, nonprofit agencies and educational institutions struggle facing some of the toughest financial times in this nation since the Great Depression," Mayor Jerry Abramson said.
Responding to the economic recession, the General Fund portion of Mayor Abramson's $849 million city budget for the current 2009-10 fiscal year is $33 million dollars smaller than the budget he proposed just two years ago. Nevertheless, the budget preserves basic city services and maintains a priority on public safety.
To see details of the current-year budget, click here.
If you have ideas for Mayor Abramson, on how city government can respond to the current economic challenge, click here to contact him. Hundreds of Louisville citizens and city employees have made helpful suggestions.
- Q & A about the city’s budget
Click here to get the most common questions and answers.
Related Budget Documents and Links