May 14, 2025 Budget Hearings FY 2025-2026 (trimmed)

[Call to Order]

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GOOD AFTERNOON. IT IS WEDNESDAY, MAY 14TH. MAY. IS THAT RIGHT? YES. IT'S WEDNESDAY, MAY 14TH.

IT'S ABOUT 404. WE'RE. THIS IS THE BUDGET COMMITTEE. I'M COUNCIL COUNCILMAN KEVIN KRAMER,

[Roll Call]

COUNCILMAN PIAGENTINI. I DON'T KNOW HOW I OVERLOOKED HIM. JOINING US VIRTUALLY ARE COUNCIL MEMBERS. BAST. SHAMIKA PARISH. RIGHT. AND WOOLRIDGE I BELIEVE THAT CAPTURES EVERYBODY THAT'S HERE. I AM GOING TO MAKE A SIMPLE QUICK REQUEST BEFORE WE GET GOING. TODAY WE HAVE TWO DIFFERENT HEARINGS AND LOTS AND LOTS OF QUESTIONS. I WILL ASK IF WE COULD PLEASE LIMIT OUR INITIAL QUESTIONS TO THREE, 2 OR 3 QUESTIONS, IF YOU WILL. IF YOU HAVE FOLLOW UPS THAT ARE IMPORTANT IN THOSE 2 OR 3 QUESTIONS, CERTAINLY I WOULD CONSIDER THOSE JUST A FOLLOW UP QUESTION. IF YOU FIND THAT YOU'RE ASKING FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS, THAT EQUATES TO A SECOND OR THIRD QUESTION, PLEASE DECIDE THAT ONE QUESTION WAS ENOUGH FOR YOU TO GET STARTED, AND THEN YOU CAN DUCK OUT OF THE QUEUE AND REENTER. OKAY, A LOT OF PEOPLE WANT TO HAVE A CHANCE TO ASK QUESTIONS. AND IF WE GET STUCK IN THAT PLACE, SOMETIMES FOLKS DON'T HAVE A CHANCE. SO THAT'S WHERE WE'LL START. I WILL REMIND MY COLLEAGUES THAT WE'VE ASKED THE FOLKS WHEN THEY COME TO BE PREPARED AND READY FOR US TO GO, AND SO I'M GOING TO JUMP RIGHT IN. WE'LL BEGIN TODAY WITH METRO DEVELOPMENT FOLLOWED IMMEDIATELY WITH CODES AND REGULATIONS. WILL THE CLERK PLEASE READ THE REQUIRED NOTICE FOR VIRTUAL MEETINGS INTO THE RECORD? THIS MEETING IS BEING HELD PURSUANT TO 6.82 16 COUNCIL RULE FIVE A READING FOR. THANK YOU. THE MAYOR HAS PROPOSED A

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AND IF THIS GETS TO LIKE OPERATIONALLY TACTICAL, WE COULD TAKE IT OFFLINE. BUT IT IS RELATED TO THE BUDGET. BUT THERE'S THIS HANGING CHAT ON HOW WE'RE DOING THESE FUNDS. RIGHT.

SO WE HAVE THE SOUTH END BUSINESS ATTRACTION CAPITAL PROJECT. WE HAVE THE EAST END INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENT FUND AND THE DOWNTOWN INFRASTRUCTURE FUND. I'M CURIOUS AS TO LIKE THE MECHANICS OF THIS. RIGHT. HOW WILL THESE FUNDS OPERATE? WHO IS OPERATING THEM? HOW WILL DECISIONS BE MADE? HOW WILL THE MONEY BE USED? CAN WE? AND IF IT'S DIFFERENT BY EACH? AGAIN, I'M I'M TRYING NOT TO MAKE THIS TOO COMPLEX OF A QUESTION, BUT THE BEST YOU CAN ANSWER, HOW THEY WILL OPERATE AND THEN HOW DECISIONS WILL BE MADE WOULD BE GREAT. YEAH. THE ON THE SOUTH END BUSINESS FUND, OUR PLAN FOR THAT IS TO DEPLOY IT VIA THE METCO TOOL. SO THAT TOOL WILL BE WILL BE PRETTY PRETTY ABLE TO DEPLOY THAT PRETTY QUICKLY. AND AGAIN, THAT FUND IS GOING TO BE DIRECTED TOWARD THE SOUTH END AND PARTICULARLY TOWARD FAVORING SOUTH END RETAIL BUSINESSES. AND I'M USING THIS AS AN EXAMPLE. SO LOOKING AT CORRIDORS LIKE PRESTON HIGHWAY AND DIXIE

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I MEAN, THERE HAVE BEEN IDEAS AND PROJECTS PROPOSED THAT, I MEAN, ONE, I'VE GOTTEN PARTIAL FUNDING FOR OVER TWO YEARS. OTHERS, YOU KNOW, WE'VE NOT DONE FUNDING FOR YET. SO IT MAY BE THAT WE CAN TALK TO THE DISTRICTS THAT HAVE BEEN IMPACTED, AS WELL AS PUBLIC WORKS AND OTHERS, AND JUST SAY, HEY, LIKE, DO WE HAVE $3 MILLION WORTH OF PROJECTS RIGHT NOW OR $3 MILLION WORTH OF WE COULD PUT START SOME OF THESE PROJECTS AND THEN LOOK TO FUTURE BUDGETS TO HELP FILL THE GAP, THESE TYPES OF THINGS. SO WE MIGHT NOT BE AS OPPOSED TO A PROCESS, DEFINE IT AND JUST WRITE IT INTO THE BUDGET TOO. YEAH. AND I THINK THAT WE'RE I THINK WE'RE REALLY WE'RE REALLY OPEN AND FLEXIBLE TO THAT. AGAIN WE IT'S AND WHAT YOU JUST SAID COUNCILMAN, IS EXACTLY RIGHT. WE ARE REALLY LOOKING TO USE THAT FUND THOSE FUNDS TO ADVANCE SOMETHING. SO IF WE CAN GET SOMETHING DONE AND EVEN IF IT'S IF IT'S AN INTERSECTION IMPROVEMENT, IF IT'S ADVANCING SOMETHING INTO A PLANNING STAGE. SO WE CAN GO ASK FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING FROM, FROM THE STATE OR IN THE FUTURE FOR METRO COUNCIL. WE WOULD WE'RE OPEN TO THAT. SO THAT'S THAT IS IT. WE'RE WE'RE REALLY FLEXIBLE WITH IT. AND WE'LL BE HAPPY TO EITHER TALK ABOUT THAT THROUGH THE BUDGETING PROCESS OR AFTER THE BUDGET IS APPROVED, AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH THE EAST END DISTRICTS. GREAT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN.

COUNCILMAN WINKLER, THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. AND JEFF, THANKS FOR BEING HERE. MY QUESTION REALLY FOCUSES ON LITA. I'D LIKE YOU TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS HOW SHOULD WE THINK ABOUT THE CITY'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT RELATIVE TO LITA? FROM A BUDGETARY PERSPECTIVE, WHAT ROLE ARE YOUR DEPARTMENT GOING TO PLAY VERSUS LITA? WE'VE GOT MANY MEMBERS OF YOUR TEAM THAT ARE FUNCTIONALLY ON LOAN TO LITA. I BELIEVE THE NUMBER IS IT'S 17, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN. IS IT PROPOSED TO BE A SIMILAR LEVEL THIS YEAR AND SORT OF CAN YOU JUST TALK ABOUT THE OVERALL STRATEGY AND THEN WHAT THE STRATEGY FOR ONGOING DIRECT FINANCIAL SUPPORT AND INDIRECT FINANCIAL SUPPORT THROUGH LABOR. SO IF YOU COULD JUST MAYBE GIVE A COUPLE MINUTE OVERVIEW OF THE STRATEGY AS YOU SEE IT? YEAH, I THINK THAT REALLY THE STRATEGY HERE IS GETTING LOUISVILLE INTO WHAT IS A NATIONAL BEST PRACTICE. SO WE ARE SEEING ALL, ALL OF OUR PEER CITIES REALLY MOVING TOWARD A MODEL WHERE WE HAVE A PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP. AND THE WAY THAT WE WORK TOGETHER IS, YOU KNOW, WE WORK WITH WE WORK WITH LEDA AND THE PRIVATE LITA. LITA STAFF IS WORKING WITH THE PRIVATE INDUSTRY TO REALLY TO REALLY DRUM UP PROJECTS AND TRY TO BRING PROJECTS TO LOUISVILLE. AND THEN THEY BRING THEM TO THE TO THE CITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SIDE. AND WE CREATIVELY WORK ON SOLUTIONS TO BRING THOSE PROJECTS TO FRUITION. SO YOU'LL CONTINUE TO SEE LITA STAFF COME IN FRONT OF THE LABOR AND LABOR AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE, PRESENTING, PRESENTING PROJECTS THAT HAVE STATE INCENTIVES, LIKE OUR TRADITIONAL KENTUCKY BUSINESS INITIATIVE OR THE KIA OR THE KENTUCKY JOBS RETENTION PROJECTS. YOU'LL SEE THOSE CONTINUE TO COME. YOU'LL SEE OUR LITA STAFF CONTINUE TO COME TO THAT WHERE WE HAVE TO DEPLOY LIKE A MORE CREATIVE INCENTIVE, WHERE WE HAVE TO COME TO METRO AND ASK FOR EITHER. FUNDING FOR, SAY, VIA A TIF OR AN IRB OR GOING TO SEE ME OR SOMEONE ON MY TEAM THAT'S GOING TO BE WORKING ON THOSE REDEVELOPMENT PROJECTS WITH LITA. AGAIN, WITH LITA,

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BUT THEY ARE BUT BUT THAT THEY ARE OUR FRONT DOOR. AND WHEN YOU AND WHEN YOU'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT REDEVELOPMENT INCENTIVES, WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE FULL GAMUT OF CONCIERGE SERVICES GOING THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS. YOU'RE GOING TO COME TO ME AND MY TEAM. SO WE'RE REALLY FUNCTIONING HAND IN HAND. I DON'T SEE THAT. I DON'T SEE THAT CHANGING. I SEE THAT JUST GETTING STRONGER AS WE GO OVER AND OVER TIME. OKAY. SO JUST GOING BACK TO MY FIRST QUESTION, WHICH WAS REALLY NOT A STRATEGY QUESTION, SORT OF A WHOLE STRATEGY. IT WAS A STRATEGY QUESTION BUDGET STRATEGY. SO SHOULD WE ANTICIPATE THIS LEVEL OR A SIMILAR SOME SIMILAR LEVEL OF SUPPORT FOR LITA INDEFINITELY? BECAUSE THIS IS FUNCTIONALLY WE ARE AGAIN MAYBE A BAD TERM, BUT WE'RE FUNCTIONALLY OUTSOURCING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TO LITA THROUGH THIS PARTNERSHIP. YEAH I SEE THERE I SEE THERE'S I REALLY SEE IT TWOFOLD. NUMBER ONE, THERE IS GOING TO BE THE ONGOING INDEFINITE FUNDING. AND METRO STAFF. WE THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE HAVE METRO STAFF THAT'S COMMITTED TO THIS. WE'VE SEEN THE MODEL KIND OF OVER TIME SHIFT BETWEEN CITY DOING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND THE PRIVATE OUTSOURCING, DOING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. AS YOU ALL KNOW, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS A RELATIONSHIP BUSINESS. AND SO THE MORE THAT WE CAN MAINTAIN THOSE RELATIONSHIPS AND METRO HAS CONTROL OVER THE MAJORITY, A GOOD NUMBER OF THOSE EMPLOYEES, THE BETTER, I THINK IN TERMS OF THE OPERATIONAL ENHANCEMENT THAT IS REQUESTED THIS YEAR AND WAS PROVIDED WAS REQUESTED IN THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR BUDGET, THE $1.5 MILLION. I SEE THAT AS AS BEING SOMETHING THAT IS ONGOING AS LITA STAYS IN A STARTUP MODE.

I MEAN, THEY WERE WE THEY WERE LAUNCHED AS A SEPARATE 501 SIX INCHES JULY OF 2024, SO I COULDN'T I CAN'T PUT A TIMELINE ON THAT. BUT FROM THE STAFF INVESTMENT, I THINK THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT IS A LONG TERM INDEFINITE INVESTMENT. COUNCILWOMAN PARISH. RIGHT.

THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN WINKLER ADDRESSED SOME OF MY QUESTIONS, BUT I HAVE SOME MORE. AND AS IS IT YOU SAID MR. TYLER. IS HE HERE, MR. PAUL? YES. OKAY. SO MY QUESTION IS AROUND NOW AND NOT THE COUNTY ANYBODY'S POCKETS. I WORK TWO JOBS, SO I'M NOT TRYING TO COUNT ANYBODY'S POCKETS. BUT FROM MY UNDERSTANDING, THIS SALARY IS 350,000 WITH A LOT OF BENEFITS. AND I WANT TO KNOW HOW IS THAT GOING TO BENEFIT THE PEOPLE OF LOUISVILLE? BECAUSE WE HAVE BUDGET CONCERNS. AND I HAD CONCERNS LAST YEAR WITH LITA, SO I WAS VERY VOCAL ABOUT THAT. SO THIS IS NOT A PERSONAL ATTACK, BUT I'M REALLY CONCERNED BECAUSE SOME OF THE NEW PROJECTS AND THE THINGS THAT YOU ALL ARE PUTTING UNDER YOUR BELT WERE ALREADY STARTED. FOR INSTANCE, YOU HAVE THE WEST LOUISVILLE. A LOT OF INITIATIVES WERE ALREADY IN PROGRESS. SO I REALLY WANT TO SEE WHERE IS OUR RETURN ON INVESTMENT FOR THIS TYPE OF LEVEL OF POSITION, AND ARE THE 17 PEOPLE THAT COUNCILMAN WINKLER MENTIONED CONSIDERED TO BE LOUISVILLE METRO EMPLOYEES? SO I'M SO FIRST AND FOREMOST, MR. PAUL IS NOT A LOUISVILLE METRO EMPLOYEE. HE HAS A HE HAS AN AGREEMENT WITH WITH LITA.

THEY THEY'RE LITA IS A DUES COLLECTING ORGANIZATION. SO THEY COLLECTED DUES IN THE RANGE OF TWO AND A HALF TO $3 MILLION THAT THOSE DUES ARE PAYING FOR MR. PAUL'S SALARIES AND BENEFITS. JUST BECAUSE IT'S A STARTUP ORGANIZATION. WE HAVE A WE HAVE AN ARRANGEMENT WITH,

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THERE'S NO PROPOSAL IN THIS BUDGET TO CHANGE THAT. I BELIEVE THERE ARE 11 FILLED POSITIONS AND SIX AND SIX VACANT POSITIONS THAT ARE LOUISVILLE METRO POSITIONS. AND MR. PAUL AND HIS TEAM ARE WORKING TO FILL THOSE VACANCIES. THANK YOU. AND I'M KEEPING IT TO THREE QUESTIONS.

ARE THESE EXISTING OR PROJECTED JOBS FULL TIME, PERMANENT OR SALARY AND SALARY? I KNOW YOU EXPLAINED SOME OF THEM, BUT THE ONES THAT YOU'RE ALL THE ALL THE JOBS ARE SAFE FOR ONE, ALL THE ALL THE LEAD JOBS THAT ARE LOUISVILLE METRO FUNDED ARE FULL TIME SALARY POSITIONS. THERE'S ONE PART TIME SALARY POSITION THAT WAS THAT IS LEASED OVER TO LITA, BUT THAT I BELIEVE WE ARE GOING TO CONVERT THAT TO A FULL TIME POSITION. THAT POSITION WAS VACATED BECAUSE FRANKLY, WE HAD TOO MUCH WORK FOR A PART TIME EMPLOYEE. SO UNDERSTOOD. MY LAST QUESTION IS JUST SPEAKING ON WHAT I TALKED ABOUT IN THE BEGINNING. NORTON WEST IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN IN THE WORLD, AND WE'VE BEEN SEEING IT. I'VE VISITED. I'VE PARTICIPATED WITH IT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, AND STELLAR SNACKS IS ALREADY LIKE. WHAT ARE OUT OF THE LIST OF ANNOUNCED NOTABLE PROJECTS? WHAT IS REALLY UNDER LEADERSHIP'S BELT? I MEAN LEAD US BELT. WELL, WELL AGAIN THE METRO OTHER THAN THE NORTON HOSPITAL, ALL THE PROJECTS, THE STELLAR SNACKS THAT WAS BEING WORKED BY LITA STAFF. SO MR. PAUL WASN'T HERE YET, BUT THAT WAS WORKED BY LITA STAFF. OUR STAFF WAS WORKING DIRECTLY WITH THE STATE CABINET FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TO BRING THAT THAT PARTICULAR JOB HERE. SO BASICALLY ANY NEW JOB ATTRACTION OR RETENTION PROJECT THAT IS COMING THROUGH OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OFFICE IS BEING HANDLED BY LITA. THEY'RE THE ECONOMIC, THE CITY, THE STAFF THAT IS METRO EMPLOYEES. AND IN THE METRO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT ARE NOT WORKING THOSE RETENTION JOBS. WE DO ASSESS, ASSIST THEM WHEN IT COMES TIME TO GET IN FRONT OF METRO COUNCIL, OR HELP THEM PUT A PACKAGE TOGETHER TO BE COMPETITIVE WITH ANOTHER LOCALITY. BUT ALL THOSE JOBS ARE AND INVESTMENT IS BEING WORKED BY THE LITA STAFF. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN HUDSON. THANK YOU CHAIR. MOST OF MY QUESTIONS HAVE ALREADY BEEN ASKED AND ANSWERED. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. AND I'LL JUST SAY, HAVING BEEN A PART OF THE TASK FORCE THAT WAS PUT TOGETHER FROM DAY ZERO TO CREATE WHAT WE NOW KNOW AS LITA, I WANT TO COMMEND THE MAYOR'S OFFICE FOR PUTTING THAT TOGETHER IN. THE PROCESS THAT THEY WENT THROUGH WAS THOROUGH. I FULLY SUPPORT LITA AND THE EFFORTS THAT THEY'RE UNDERTAKING. I THINK WE GOT THE RIGHT PERSON SELECTED AS A PRESIDENT AND CEO, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO THE RESULTS AND FUTURE PROJECTS. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN WEBER, THANKS SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.

I'D LIKE TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE FOCUS ON WORKFORCE, BECAUSE WE HEAR A LOT ABOUT THE STRUGGLES THAT EMPLOYERS ARE HAVING, FINDING THE RIGHT TALENT. AND I THINK USUALLY WE TALK ABOUT THAT IN TECH TALENT, AND WE TALK ABOUT THAT IN NURSING SHORTAGES. AND I DO THINK THOSE ARE REALLY IMPORTANT. AND BUT I'D REALLY LOVE TO HEAR A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT MORE OF THE ESSENTIAL WORKERS. YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE GOING TO BE AN ECONOMY THAT ESSENTIALLY STAYS FOCUSED ON, YOU KNOW, WE MAKE STUFF, WE MOVE STUFF, AND THEN WE ENTERTAIN PEOPLE. WE HAVE TO HAVE THOSE PEOPLE WHO CAN BUILD THINGS, WHO UNDERSTAND THAT. SO I'D LOVE TO HEAR YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT, BUT PARTICULARLY ALSO ABOUT THE ESSENTIAL ROLE OF HAVING PLACES FOR THOSE PEOPLE TO LIVE. SO HOW IS OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY THINKING ABOUT HOUSING, AND HOW DO WE ADDRESS THE HOUSING CRISIS THAT WE HAVE IN OUR COMMUNITY? YEAH, I THINK THAT HOUSING IS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. I'LL START WITH THAT. I MEAN, WE ARE WE HAVE A WE HAVE A NEED HERE TO GROW OUR CITY. AND WE'RE NOT GOING TO GROW OUR CITY WITHOUT GROWING OUR, OUR HOUSING. I THINK OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY ON HOUSING IS REALLY LOOKING AT OUR, AT OUR URBAN CORE AND MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE THE BEST POSSIBLE REGIME OF, OF DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS AND INCENTIVES TO MAKE SURE THAT WE FILL THE FILL THE URBAN CORE UP, BECAUSE WE HAVE A LOT OF SPACE TO GROW, TO GROW HOUSING IN THE URBAN CORE. AND SO I THINK THAT'S THAT'S IMPORTANT. IT'S NOT GOING TO SAY ABSOLVE US FROM

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THERE'S ALWAYS THE UPSKILLING OF OUR, OF OUR ADULT POPULATION. SO WE HAVE OUR KENTUCKIANA WORKS HAS ITS ADULT TRAINING CENTERS. WE HAVE CODE LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, THAT FOCUSES ON GETTING PEOPLE THOSE TECH SKILLS. AND THOSE STILL GO VERY WELL. THEY ARE THE PLACEMENTS IN THOSE TWO TECH FOCUSED PROGRAMS ARE DOWN A LITTLE BIT, BUT THAT'S REALLY MAINLY DUE TO THE LARGER ECONOMY AND SOME CHALLENGES IN THE LARGER TECH ECONOMY. BUT THOSE PROGRAMS ARE STILL UP AND RUNNING AND ARE SUCCESSFUL. I THINK A NEW FOCUS FOR US, AND THIS IS SOME STATE MONEY THAT MICHAEL WAS ABLE TO BRING IN WITH SOME OF THE OTHER WORKFORCE INVESTMENT BOARDS IN THE STATE WAS WE WERE ABLE TO GET SOME NEW MONEY INTO HELPING HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR PLACEMENT. SO MAKING SURE THAT THOSE SENIORS THAT EXCUSE ME, THAT WEREN'T GOING TO, THAT WEREN'T GOING TO GO TO COLLEGE RIGHT AWAY OR HAVE A JOB COMING RIGHT OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL THAT WE WERE DOING SOME HELP IN, IN FOSTERING CONNECTIONS AND GETTING THEM TO JOBS. AND THOSE ARE MORE THOSE ARE GOING TO BE OUR THAT'S GOING TO BE OUR ESSENTIAL WORKFORCE. BUT WE'RE NOT JUST TRYING TO GET THEM JOBS, WE'RE TRYING TO GET THEM CAREER PATH JOBS. SO WHETHER IT'S I KNOW, YOU KNOW, WORKING AT UPS AND HANDLING PACKAGES, NOT NECESSARILY THE MOST GLAMOROUS THING, BUT I WAS WITH UPS THIS MORNING AT THEIR LAPORTE ANNOUNCEMENT FOR ZOETIS. AND THIS WAS YOU KNOW, IT'S EXCITING BECAUSE THAT YOU HAVE SOMEBODY THAT'S A PACKAGE HANDLER AND THEY'RE WORKING THEIR WAY UP INTO TECH FOCUSED JOBS AND THAT YOU KNOW THAT. SO THAT'S, THAT'S THAT'S AN IMPORTANT PART OF IT. I'D SAY THAT THE OTHER PART OF OUR WORKFORCE IS VERY IMPORTANT IS OUR DISCONNECTED YOUTH. SO IN JEFFERSON COUNTY WE HAVE AROUND 12,000 RESIDENTS, PEOPLE, YOUNG PEOPLE BETWEEN 16 AND 24. I THINK I GOT THAT NUMBER RIGHT. MICHAEL DID IT GOOD. IT'S BETWEEN 16 AND 24, AND THERE'S AN INVESTMENT IN THIS IN THIS BUDGET AGAIN IN THE SPOT AND MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE ARE GETTING THOSE PEOPLE THE TRAINING THEY NEED. ONE OF MY TEAM MEMBERS AND I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO WITH MICHAEL AND TOUR THE NEW SPOT AT SECOND AND CHESTNUT. THANK YOU. AND A COUPLE MONTHS AGO, AND WE HEARD A COUPLE STORIES FROM SOME YOUNG PEOPLE THAT HAD HAD SOME PROBLEMS WITH THE LAW. THEY WERE THEY WERE GETTING THEIR, THEIR, THEIR OSHA TRAINING TO MAKE SURE THEY SO THEY COULD BECOME WELDERS. AND AGAIN, WE'RE AGAIN I'M TALKING ABOUT BUILDING STUFF HERE WITH YOU ALL TODAY. AND IF WE DON'T HAVE PEOPLE THAT ARE WORKING THOSE CONSTRUCTION JOBS AND, YOU KNOW, GETTING INTO THOSE PRE TRAINED PRE APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS, WE'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE THAT WORKFORCE. SO YOU KNOW I THINK THAT THERE ARE INVESTMENTS HERE IN WORKFORCE. WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO INVEST IN THE SPOT.

WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO INVEST IN OUR WORK WITH JCPS AND CONTINUE TO INVEST IN ADULT TRAINING, WHETHER IT'S CODE CODE LOUISVILLE, CODE KENTUCKY OR OUR REGULAR ADULT TRAINING WORK. SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT MICHAEL AND HIS BOARD WORK VERY CLOSELY ON EVERY DAY. THAT IS AWESOME. I LOVE HEARING YOU SAY THAT. I ALSO WAS AT THE SPOT THERE AND AT THE OTHER ONE THAT OPENED RECENTLY, YOU KNOW, JUST AMAZING STUFF. ALSO, GLAD TO HEAR YOU TALK ABOUT FAIR CHANCE WORKERS.

I WAS AT GOODWILL YESTERDAY FOR AN EXPUNGEMENT CLINIC THEY WERE DOING, AND THERE WAS A LINE ALL THE WAY DOWN THE HALL, WHICH IS AWESOME. PEOPLE WANT TO WORK, THEY WANT TO REDUCE THOSE BARRIERS. AND I YOU KNOW, I COMMEND MICHAEL GRITTON FOR ALL BEING SUCH AN INNOVATIVE PART OF THAT FOR SO LONG AND CONTINUING TO INNOVATE. THE OTHER TWO THINGS THAT WE REALLY HEAR WITHIN THIS WORKFORCE, AS BARRIERS ARE TRANSIT. YOU KNOW, I CANNOT GET FROM WHERE I, WHERE I CAN LIVE TO WHERE THERE ARE JOBS THAT I CAN QUALIFY FOR AND CHILD CARE. I'D LOVE TO HEAR YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW THAT FITS INTO THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY. YEAH, I THINK THAT YOU'LL SEE I'M NOT GOING TO STEAL HIS THUNDER. BUT WE DO HAVE SOME INVESTMENTS IN 24 HOUR CHILDCARE AS PART OF OUR CDBG BUDGET THIS YEAR. SO THAT'S THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE VERY THAT WE ARE FOCUSED ON. IT'S, IT'S THAT THAT WORLD INTERSECTS WITH MINE. SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE THINKING ABOUT THAT IN TERMS OF TRANSIT. YOU KNOW, IT'S A IT'S A CHALLENGING CONVERSATION. TRANSIT AGENCIES ACROSS AMERICA HAVE REALLY HAD CHALLENGES GETTING TO PEOPLE. BUT REALLY, I THINK AGAIN, IF WE LOOK AT OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY, TRYING TO DENSIFY OUR OUR URBAN CORRIDORS, OUR COMMERCIAL CORRIDORS MAKE TARC MORE EFFICIENT, I THINK THAT'S GOING TO BE IMPORTANT. YOU KNOW, WE'VE REALLY ENCOURAGED THEM TO FOCUS ON THOSE HIGH FREQUENCY NETWORKS. WE DON'T WANT TO LEAVE PEOPLE BEHIND, BUT, YOU KNOW,

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I THINK WE'VE DONE A DECENT JOB WITH THAT. I THINK THAT TOOL HAS GREAT POTENTIAL TO BE TO

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SO THAT'S AND HAVE THE BIGGEST TAX BURDENS, QUITE FRANKLY. SO THAT'S THAT'S WHERE WE NEED TO BE CREATIVE AND WORK WITH LITA TO DEPLOY THOSE. OKAY. AND THEN MY FINAL QUESTION, YOU KNOW, YESTERDAY WE HAD HR IN AND SOME OF THE QUESTIONS DIRECTED TO HR WERE ABOUT ADDRESSING SOME OF THE STAFFING PROBLEMS WE HAVE IN METRO. AND COUNCILMAN HAWKINS ASKED, YOU KNOW, WHY CAN'T WE HAVE CONTRACTED WORKERS COME IN AND FILL THESE POSITIONS IN? HR WAS REALLY PRETTY CLEAR THAT CONTRACTED WORKERS WERE SORT OF A OVERALL DRAG ON THE EFFECTIVENESS IN OUR SPENDING ON STAFFING. AND SO I'M CONFUSED. WHY ARE WHY IS THE AMBASSADOR PROGRAM, WHICH WE'RE LOOKING TO EXPAND, WHOLLY CONTRACTED OUTSIDE OF THE CITY? WHY ARE THESE NOT CITY EMPLOYEES? THE.

WELL, FRANKLY, BECAUSE WE HAVE A CONTRACTOR THAT WAS DOING THIS WORK IN OUR IN OUR COMMUNITY ALREADY. WHILE WHILE I WOULD SAY THERE ARE SOME CHALLENGES IN BRINGING ON CONTRACT EMPLOYEES, I WOULD ALSO SAY THAT THERE'S SOME ADVANTAGES IN TERMS OF COST. I MEAN, THERE WE'RE NOT PAYING FOR DIRECTLY PAYING FOR THE SALARY AND BENEFITS OR DOING THE HIRING FOR THE BLOCK BY BLOCK. THIS IS A NATIONWIDE ORGANIZATION THAT'S ACTUALLY HEADQUARTERED HERE IN LOUISVILLE. SO THEY'RE THEY THEY ARE DOING THIS WORK AMONG IN MANY OTHER COMMUNITIES, LARGE AND SMALL ACROSS AMERICA. AND WE'RE ABLE TO LEVERAGE THEIR THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND THEIR ABILITY TO GO AND FIND STAFF AND DO HAVE HIRING PRACTICES AND TRAINING PROGRAMS AND LEARNED EXPERIENCES IN THE FIELD. AND WE CAN LEVERAGE THAT HERE. AND THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DO IN OUR IN OUR LOCAL HIRING POOL. NOW, ALL THE EMPLOYEES FOR BLOCK BY BLOCK ARE LOCAL RESIDENTS. BUT I THINK THAT THERE ARE SOME ADVANTAGES TO USING CONTRACTORS FOR PROGRAMS LIKE FOR LIKE A, LIKE AN AMBASSADOR PROGRAM. YEAH, I GUESS I'M JUST CONCERNED BECAUSE WHEN I LOOK AT THE WORK PORTFOLIO FOR THE AMBASSADORS, I SEE A LOT OF WORK THAT HAS TRADITIONALLY BEEN DONE BY PUBLIC WORKS EMPLOYEES, PARKS EMPLOYEES. AND, YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANT US TO SEE US, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO SAY THAT IT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT WE'RE WE'RE YOU KNOW, IT'S A LESS OUTLAY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE WE'RE GETTING THE WORK CHEAPER. BUT UNION WORK IS THE BEST WORK THAT WE CAN HAVE. AND IF WE'RE TRYING TO AVOID HAVING UNION EMPLOYEES, I FIND THAT CONCERNING. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN, WE ARE WE'RE JOINED A BIT AGO BY COUNCILMAN OWEN. I ALSO NOTE THAT COUNCILMAN HAWKINS AND COUNCILMAN JOSEPH HAVE BOTH ARRIVED. I THINK THAT AND COUNCILMAN REED HAS JOINED US VIRTUALLY. NEXT IN THE QUEUE IS COUNCILWOMAN BAST. CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES, MA'AM. ALL RIGHT, I JUST WANTED. I HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS. IN ADDITION TO THE $1.5 MILLION THAT LITA RECEIVED LAST YEAR, WHAT IS THE FULL COST OF METRO FUNDED EMPLOYEES, METRO FUNDED FACILITIES, AND METRO FUNDED TECHNOLOGY BEING UTILIZED FOR LITA? I THINK THE I BELIEVE THE COST ON THAT IS BETWEEN 2 AND $2.5 MILLION. WE'LL FOLLOW UP WITH YOU ON THE EXACT NUMBER, BUT IT'S BETWEEN 2 AND $2.5 MILLION. AND THAT'S THAT'S FOR THE FUNDED EMPLOYEES AND FACILITIES AND TECHNOLOGY. THAT'S LIKE A TOTAL AN ESTIMATE.

CORRECT. OKAY. WHY DID WHY DO WE MAINTAIN THE GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES AND WHY DOESN'T LEAD TO HIRE THEM? AGAIN, I THINK THAT THERE IS A LOT TO BE. AGAIN, THIS IS A PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP. SO TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE OUR PUBLIC INTEREST THAT ARE BEING CARED FOR, I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE HAVE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES AS PART OF THIS. AGAIN, THE OTHER PART,

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OKAY. AND THEN MY LAST QUESTION KIND OF TOUCHED ON WHAT MY PREVIOUS WHAT LINENGER HAD TO SAY. SO I UNDERSTAND IT'S A $50,000 BUY IN TO BE ON THIS BOARD. AND THAT SEEMS VERY EXCLUSIVE TO ME. I JUST CURIOUS, WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE PEOPLE WHO MAY WANT TO BE INVOLVED BUT CAN'T PAY THAT BUY IN? THERE ARE SOME SMALL BUSINESS SEATS WHERE THERE IS LESS BUYING AND I'M SORRY I DO NOT. I'M NOT THE. I DON'T CONTROL THE LITA DUES COLLECTION. I BELIEVE THEY DO HAVE SOME LOWER THRESHOLDS THOUGH. AND THERE'S A RANGE OF DUES THAT CAN BE PAID BY PEOPLE WANTING TO SERVE ON LITA. IS THERE ANNUAL DUES ATTACHED TO THAT? ALSO? YES, THERE ARE ANNUAL DUES. YOU KNOW WHAT THAT IS? THE TOTAL AMOUNT IS IN THE 2 TO $3 MILLION RANGE OF WHAT THE WHAT THE THRESHOLD LIMITS ARE FOR THE DUES. I'D HAVE TO I'D HAVE TO GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT INFORMATION. OKAY. YEAH, I'D APPRECIATE THAT. OKAY. THAT'S ALL I HAVE FOR NOW. THANK YOU.

COUNCIL. THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN PARKER. THANK YOU. I HAVE ONE TOPIC, BUT A COUPLE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ONE TOPIC. AND JUST TO REMIND FOLKS, THERE'S LIKE EIGHT PEOPLE IN THE QUEUE BEHIND ME.

SO I'M GOING TO TRY TO BE RESPECTFUL OF THAT. SIMMONS SIMMONS COLLEGE, WESTOVER CAMPUS. WE ARE FUNDING A PROJECT. WHAT IS THE PROJECT? HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? ARE WE PAYING THE TOTAL COST OF THE PROJECT? WHY IS THAT IMPORTANT TO METRO? AND HAVE WE EVER FUNDED UNIVERSITY PROJECTS IN THIS WAY BEFORE OTHER THAN SAY, FOR INSTANCE, U OF L TIFS THE.

SO SIMMONS COLLEGE THE REQUEST HERE IS FOR $3 MILLION TO HELP FUND THEIR STEAM CAMPUS. THEY'VE ACQUIRED LAND AT 45TH AND BROADWAY. THEY'LL BE CREATING A STEAM CAMPUS. AND SO THAT THAT IS A PORTION OF THE PROJECT. I CAN GET YOU THE FULL PROJECT COST, BUT IT'S ABOUT $3 MILLION, IS NOT THE FULL PROJECT COST. AND THEY'LL BE BUILDING AND LIKE I SAID, A STEAM CAMPUS. SO FOR WHAT IS A STEAM CAMPUS TECH SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY STEMMING LIKE STEM? WELL STEAM WITH STEAM ADDS ARTS. SO ARTS AFTER ENGINEERING. YEAH. HAVE WE EVER FUNDED DONE A FUNDING PROJECT LIKE THIS BEFE FOR Y OTHER UNIVERSITIES? I'LL HAVE TO GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT. IF WE'VE IF WE'VE DONE A DIRECT APPROPRIATIO OUTSIDE OF THE TIFS. OKAY. AND W ISHIS IMPORTT TO MET? I THI IT' SION CGE H A HBCU.ND IHINK THAT IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO SUPPORT THEIR WORK.

IT PROVIDES US PROVIDES MORE OPPORTUNITIES, MORE EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR RESIDENTS.

THIS IS A PART OF OUR COMMUNITY THAT COULD REALLY BENEFIT FROM SOME MAJOR INVESTMENT IN EDUCATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, COUNCILWOMAN PURVIS. THANK YOU,

[00:40:07]

GO AHEAD SIR, I WAS JUST SAYING THAT THERE WILL LARGELY BE FOCUSED ON THE SAME WORK, EVEN IF ROLES SHIFT SLIGHTLY. SO IF THERE IF WE DIDN'T HAVE LEDA, ARE YOU SAYING THAT WE WOULD NOT HAVE THESE EMPLOYEES? NO. IF WE HAD LEDA, WE WOULD. THESE THE EMPLOYEES CURRENTLY ARE LOUISVILLE METRO EMPLOYEES. SO IF LEDA WOULD GOES AWAY THE OR IS DISSOLVED, THE EMPLOYEES WOULD REMAIN WITH LOUISVILLE METRO AND WE WOULD ABSORB THEM BACK INTO THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT. OKAY. SO JUST GOING BACK TO MY COLLEAGUE TALKING ABOUT, WELL THIS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GLI AND LEDA AND I JUST WANT TO KNOW COULD WAS AND CAN LEAD, CAN GLI DO THE SAME THING THAT LEDA WAS DOING? I CAN'T SPEAK FOR GLI ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY. I CAN SPEAK FOR WHAT AGAIN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GLI BRINGING BEING A REGIONAL ENTITY. SO THEY REPRESENT THE 15 COUNTY REGION. THEY DON'T JUST REPRESENT LOUISVILLE METRO GOVERNMENT IN OUR INTERESTS. LEDA REPRESENTS JUST LOUISVILLE METRO GOVERNMENT IN OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INTERESTS. WE ARE PART OF A REGION. WE WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH GLI, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, HAVING HAVING A REGIONAL AND LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION BE ONE OF THE SAME, PRESENTS MANY CHALLENGES IN TERMS OF SHIELDING. SHIELDING PROJECTS AND PROJECTS COME IN TO GLI. THEY COULD GO TO ANY NUMBER OF PLACES, THEY COULD COME TO LOUISVILLE, OR THEY COULD BE GOING TO BULLITT COUNTY, OR THEY COULD BE GOING TO SHELBY COUNTY. SO WE'RE IN ESSENCE, COMPETING WITH ONE ANOTHER. AS GLI BRINGS THE PROJECT IN WITH IF, IF GLI AND LEDA OR GLI WAS DOING ONE OF THE SAME, THEY'D HAVE TO HAVE BASICALLY THEIR STAFF SHIELDING ONE ANOTHER FROM THE PROJECT WITHIN THE SAME ORGANIZATION, WHICH CREATES SOME REAL CHALLENGES. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S A MODEL THAT, FRANKLY, INDIANA INDIANAPOLIS DOES, AND IT CREATES SOME REAL CHALLENGES FOR THEM AND HOW THEY ATTRACT PROJECTS THROUGHOUT THE REGION AND INTO THE CITY OF INDIANAPOLIS. SO I'M JUST GOING TO MAKE A COMMENT. LITTLE CONCERNED WITH LEADERS BOARD AND. IT SEEMS LIKE EVERYTHING IS EXCLUSIVE AND PRIVILEGED. I'M CONCERNED ABOUT THAT BECAUSE THEY'RE USING TAXPAYERS DOLLARS. SO I'M REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT THE FORMATION OF LEDA AND THE EXCLUSIVENESS, CONSIDERING THAT THEY'RE USING TAXPAYERS DOLLARS. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN. AT THIS POINT, THERE ARE SOME FOLKS WHO ARE LOGGING BACK IN. AND SO WHAT I'M WHAT I'M GOING TO DO IS ASK FIRST THOSE FOLKS WHO HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE, AND I WILL HAVE YOU IN ORDER WHEN YOU LOG BACK IN. SO IF YOU SEE YOUR NAME IN AND I'VE SKIPPED YOU, IT'S, IT WAS, I GUESS YOU COULD SAY INTENTIONAL. SO HERE GOES. COUNCILMAN HERNDON. CAN LEDA QUIETLY OPTION PROPERTIES. BUT SINCE THEY NOT RIGHT NOW. RIGHT. AND YOU'RE SAYING THAT THEY'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO BE FUNDED BY US, EITHER DIRECT SUBSIDY OR BY EMPLOYEES, BUT THAT'S WHAT THEY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO DO THAT FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE. ISN'T THAT RIGHT? ISN'T THAT A BIG TOOL TO LOSE THAT, THAT IF WITH A PRIVATELY A TOTALLY PRIVATELY FUNDED LIKE THE DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION AND MANY CITIES, FOR EXAMPLE, TOTALLY PRIVATELY FUNDED THEREFORE CAN QUIETLY OPTION PROPERTIES AHEAD OF AN ANNOUNCEMENT OF ANOTHER

[00:45:03]

COUNCILMAN CHAPPELL AND THEN COUNCILMAN. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH. ALL RIGHT. SO SORRY. A LOT OF NOTES AT THE LAST BUDGET HEARING. AND THIS WAS LAST YEAR. YOU EXPECTED THE MOA, THE MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT TO BE SIGNED IN EARLY JULY 2024. BUT THAT AGREEMENT ACTUALLY WASN'T SIGNED UNTIL JANUARY 27TH, 2025. YOU CITED THAT JOBS IN LOUISVILLE AND METRO HAVE DOUBLED SINCE IMPLEMENTING THE LEDA MODEL. TO MY KNOWLEDGE, WE HAVE YET TO RECEIVE A QUARTERLY REPORT FROM LEDA, AND GIVEN THAT LOUISVILLE METRO HAS SUPPLIED LEDA WITH MONEY AND RESOURCES AND EMPLOYEES FOR NEARLY A YEAR NOW, I THINK THAT WE'RE DUE AT LEAST A FEW OF THESE QUARTERLY REPORTS. WHEN CAN WE EXPECT ANY OVERSIGHT AND INSIGHT INTO THIS QUASI GOVERNMENTAL ARM OF OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT? AND ALSO, WILL THESE REPORTS SHOW HOW MUCH LEDA HAS RAISED IN PRIVATE FUNDING TO DATE? SO WE'VE BEEN WE'VE LOUISVILLE METRO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT HAS BEEN PROVIDING QUARTERLY REPORTS, AND WE'VE BEEN DOING THAT FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS. I THINK I JUST SUBMITTED MY LAST QUARTERLY REPORT A COUPLE WEEKS AGO. LEDA SPECIFICALLY. WELL, LOUISVILLE METRO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. DOES WE INCLUDE THE LEDA ACTIVITIES ON THAT REPORT.

SO THAT AND I WE DO NOT WE DO NOT INCLUDE THE PRIVATE FUNDS RAISED TO DATE ON THAT REPORT RIGHT NOW. OKAY. MY OFFICE HAS NOTICED A SHARP DECLINE IN COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ESPECIALLY OVER THE LAST YEAR AND ESPECIALLY AS IT RELATES TO SMALL BUSINESSES.

THIS COULD BE TIED TO YOUR 2.3% TURNOVER RATE, WHICH IS ABOUT 7% HIGHER THAN LOUISVILLE METRO'S AVERAGE RATE FOR TURNOVER. BUT BEYOND A METCO LOAN, I'M UNAWARE OF ANY SMALL BUSINESS RESOURCES, AND IT SOUNDS LIKE THAT SOUTH END BUSINESS SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT FUND THAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT, THAT'S $3 MILLION THAT THAT WAS GOING TO BE KIND OF INFLATING THE METCO LOAN PROGRAM. SO IS THERE ANY BUDGETARY SUPPORT FOR SMALL BUSINESSES IN LOUISVILLE METRO BEYOND LOANS? YEAH, WE AGAIN, WE HAVE WE HAVE HAD SOME TURNOVER IN OUR SMALL BUSINESS STAFF. SO THAT IS THE BULK OF WHERE OUR TURNOVER HAS HAPPENED IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. WE HAVE WE'VE HAD SEVERAL OF OUR METCO STAFF TURNOVER AND WE'VE ALSO HAD, AGAIN, OUR SMALL BUSINESS MANAGERS TURNOVER AS WELL. SO RIGHT NOW WE ARE DOWN ONE METCO PERSON AND DOWN TWO SMALL BUSINESS TEAM MEMBERS. SO THAT'S BEEN THE THAT'S BEEN THE DECLINE. AND AGAIN WE'VE HELD SOME OF THOSE POSITIONS. WE'VE WE'VE GONE THROUGH INTERVIEW PROCESSES FOR THOSE POSITIONS AND NOT NECESSARILY BEEN ABLE TO FILL THEM WITH THE CANDIDATES THAT HAVE COME FORWARD. WE HAVE

[00:50:01]

THE STATE DOES HAVE A SMALL BUSINESS TAX CREDIT. AND AGAIN, THE SMALL THE SOUTH END BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT FUND IS NOT WE WERE GOING TO RUN IT OUT OF THE METCO PROGRAM. BUT METCO IN THE PAST HAS RUN GRANT PROGRAMS. AND OUR GOAL, I THINK, IN THE BUDGET LANGUAGE IT SPECIFICALLY SAYS IS WE ARE HOPING TO DO A MIX OF LOANS AND GRANTS. SO AGAIN, WE WOULD DO LOANS ON. TYPICALLY WE WOULD DO LOANS FOR OPERATING CAPITAL AND GRANTS FOR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS. SO THAT LEAVES A LOT TO BE DESIRED, ESPECIALLY AS I HEAR SMALL BUSINESSES WANTING TO HAVE HELP AND ALSO HAVE A LITTLE COACHING AND HAVE ACCESS TO THOSE RESOURCES. AND SOMETIMES THOSE CAN BE A LOT OF RED TAPE. BUT I'M ALSO FAILING TO UNDERSTAND, WITH LEDA HAVING I HAVE. CONFLICTING NUMBERS HERE, BUT BETWEEN 6 AND 10 VACANT POSITIONS. AND NOW YOU JUST SPOKE ABOUT THREE POSITIONS THAT ARE VACANT WITH YOUR SMALL BUSINESS PORTION. IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU HAVE TO BE VERY AGGRESSIVE AT HIRING, GIVEN THAT WE'RE ABOUT 90 DAYS OUT AND HIRING ANY CANDIDATES AND YOU'RE HAVING TROUBLE SOURCING ANY CANDIDATES, IS IT REALISTIC THAT YOU'RE GOING TO FILL THESE? AND ARE THERE PRIORITIES PLACED ON LEDA EMPLOYEES? LET ME LET ME CLARIFY OUR OPENINGS IN IN CITY METRO LOUISVILLE METRO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT. WE DON'T HAVE ANY OPENINGS IN THE IN LEDA. WE HAVE SIX VACANT POSITIONS. BUT YOU JUST SAID YOU HAD THREE OPEN POSITIONS. I HAVE THOSE THREE POSITIONS OF SMALL BUSINESS TEAM IS GOING TO WORK FOR LEDA. SO THEY'RE THE SMALL BUSINESS POSITIONS ARE IN THOSE SIX. THOSE THREE POSITIONS I SPOKE OF ARE IN THOSE SIX POSITIONS THAT ARE AT LEDA. OKAY. LAST QUESTION. WHY CREATE A $3 MILLION EAST END INFRASTRUCTURE FUND WITH NO PLAN FOR IMPLEMENTATION, ESPECIALLY SINCE WE SEE GREATER NEED FOR THIS MONEY THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY? I THINK THAT THERE ARE THERE'S GREAT INFRASTRUCTURE NEED IN THE EAST END AS IT'S SEEING DEVELOPMENT HAPPEN. SO I THINK THAT WHILE WE HAVE GREAT NEEDS ALL OVER OUR COMMUNITY, I THINK THE, THE, THE POINT OF THE FUND IS TO GET SOME OF THE PROJECTS THAT HAVE BEEN KIND OF NOT, NOT NOT GOING AS QUICKLY AS THEY COULD TO SPEED THEM UP SO THAT WE CAN ADDRESS SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE'RE FACING IN, IN THE EAST END, SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO ROAD CONDITIONS. DO YOU HAVE A LIST OF THOSE PROJECTS? WE HAVE A LIST OF PROJECTS THAT ARE THAT ARE NEEDED IN THE EAST END. I CAN SHARE THOSE WITH YOU. I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THAT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. SO, COLLEAGUES, I'M LOOKING AT THE TIME WE'RE GOING TO RUN OVER. IT'S UNAVOIDABLE AT THIS POINT. THERE ARE STILL THREE PEOPLE IN THE QUEUE WHO HAVE NOT HAD A CHANCE TO ASK A QUESTION. I INTEND TO CALL ON THOSE THREE AND LET THEM ASK A QUESTION. WE DO HAVE ANOTHER ANOTHER HEARING SCHEDULED AFTER THIS ONE, SO WE'RE KIND OF UP AGAINST IT. WE WILL DO A CALL BACK AND ASK YOU GUYS TO COME BACK AT A LATER DATE TO FINISH, BECAUSE THERE ARE SEVERAL PEOPLE IN THE QUEUE WHO HAVE FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS. IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION THAT YOU'D LIKE TO FIRE AN EMAIL TO, TO THEM BETWEEN NOW AND WHEN THEY COME BACK SO THAT THEY'RE PREPARED FOR IT, THAT WOULD BE GREAT. BUT WE WILL SCHEDULE A CALL BACK FOR YOU BECAUSE THERE WILL BE OTHER QUESTIONS IN ADDITION TO THE ONES THAT ARE ALREADY IN THE SYSTEM. SO THAT'S WHERE WE ARE. COUNCILMAN OWEN. THANK YOU, CHAIR JEFF, THANKS FOR BEING HERE. YOU AND I HAVE TALKED A LOT ABOUT HOUSING AND IT IT I'M VERY ENCOURAGED. I KNOW THIS ABOUT YOU AND THAT YOU THINK HOUSING DEVELOPMENT IS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT. SO I'M REALLY GLAD TO HEAR YOU SAY THAT. I GUESS MY QUESTION IS AROUND THE PROPOSED BUDGET. FROM MY FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, WHEN I JUST GO THROUGH AND THIS IT'S IN THE BUDGET, IT'S HARD SOMETIMES TO IDENTIFY THINGS THAT ARE TARGETED FOR SPECIFIC THINGS.

BUT IT LOOKS TO ME LIKE WE HAVE FEWER DOLLARS GOING TOWARD HOUSING INCENTIVES IN THIS YEAR'S BUDGET, INCLUDING THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING TRUST FUND, THAN WE DID LAST YEAR. AND SO IT'S CONCERNING TO ME THAT THAT WE'RE KIND OF BACKING OFF IN THAT INVESTMENT AT A VERY CRITICAL TIME WHEN YOU CAN'T REALLY DO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WITHOUT HOUSING DEVELOPMENT. SO I JUST WANTED TO GET YOUR TAKE ON THE LEVEL OF FUNDING THAT'S PROPOSED SO FAR, AND HOW THAT MAY OR MAY NOT HOLD BACK SOME OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WE'RE WORKING ON. WELL, I THINK I

[00:55:01]

OKAY. WOULDN'T IT BE MORE ECONOMICAL TO STAY IN THE BUILDING FOR FUNDING WISE? WHAT IS THE REASON TO MOVE? THAT'S THAT. AGAIN, THAT MOVE WOULD BE FUNDED BY LITA TO MOVE OUT OF THE BUILDING AND THAT SO I, I CAN'T SPEAK TO THAT. OKAY. I'M NOT MOVING. MY OFFICE IS STAYING WHERE IT IS NOW. RIGHT. OKAY. WELL YOU CAN'T SPEAK TO THAT. AND YOU KNOW I KNOW THAT. WHICH LEADS ME TO MY NEXT QUESTION. AS FAR AS YOU SAYING THAT LITA IS GOING TO BE GETTING MORE NEEDS, MORE PEOPLE, BUT WHAT ABOUT THE PEOPLE THAT ARE ALREADY THERE? YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE PEOPLE THAT ARE ALREADY THERE IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THAT FEELS LIKE THAT THEIR JOB IS IN JEOPARDY. WHY NOT PUT THEM FILL THOSE POSITIONS WITH THOSE PEOPLE THAT ARE ALREADY THERE? ALL THE PEOPLE THAT ARE IN LITA ARE WERE IN METRO, ARE GOING INTO ARE GOING TO LITA. OKAY. NEXT QUESTION REAL QUICK IS WHAT DO YOU ALL DO FOR A SMALL AND LARGE MINORITY OWNED BUSINESSES LOCATED WEST OF NINTH STREET? SO WE AGAIN, OUR SMALL BUSINESS TOOL IS THE METCO LOAN TOOL FOR LARGE BUSINESSES. THE ONLY THE ONLY THE ONLY TOOL THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE IS WELL, WE DON'T HAVE ANY TOOLS. IS THE TOOL RIGHT. BECAUSE BECAUSE OF THE WEST END OPPORTUNITY PARTNERSHIP, THE TYPICAL TOOLS SUCH AS KBI AND TIF ARE OFF THE TABLE. THOSE ANY ANY TAX BASED INCENTIVES HAVE TO BE COMMITTED THROUGH THE WEST END OPPORTUNITY PARTNERSHIP BOARD. OKAY. SO YOU SEND THEM TO THE WE CHOP THEM, RIGHT? CORRECT. OKAY. SO THAT DOESN'T GRANT FUNDING. AND WE DON'T HAVE ANYBODY FROM THE WE ARE HERE TODAY RIGHT TO SPEAK TO THE WE. SO I GUESS MY QUESTION IS. WHAT DOES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DO AND WHAT DOES THE WEST END PARTNERSHIP DO FOR SMALL MINORITY BUSINESSES, SMALL OR LARGE WEST OF NINTH STREET. CAN WE TRY TO CREATE. SO IF THERE IF THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY AND THEY'RE ABLE TO TAKE A LOAN FOR FROM METCO, WE WILL WORK WITH THEM ON THE METCO LOAN PROCESS. WE WILL ALSO CONNECT THEM TO SMALL BUSINESS RESOURCES. WE HAVE A CADRE OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE WORK WITH IN THIS COMMUNITY TO GIVE BUSINESSES THE COACHING AND HELP THAT THEY NEED. AND, YOU KNOW, AND IN CERTAIN INSTANCES, THE STATE CABINET AND LOUISVILLE METRO WILL GET CREATIVE IN TRYING TO HELP BUSINESSES LOCATE IN, IN THE WEST END. OKAY. SO YOU'RE GOING TO GET CREATIVE. SO YOU'RE STILL SENDING PEOPLE TO THE WHITE BOARD AND YOU'RE NOT SAYING ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT THE WHITE BOARD CAN DO. SO SHOULD WE NOT RECOMMEND THEM TO GO TO THE WHITE BOARD AND JUST KIND OF LIKE STICK TO EITHER IF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CAN HELP THEM OR NOT, BECAUSE WE'RE SENDING PEOPLE TO THE WHITE BOARD AND THEY'RE JUST LIKE, WELL, THEY JUST SENT IT TO THE WHITE BOARD FOR ANYTHING THAT IS WEST OF NINTH STREET. YEAH, WE I DON'T I DON'T THINK, I DON'T, I DON'T MEAN TO CHARACTERIZE IT THAT WE'RE JUST SENDING THEM TO THE BOARD AND THEN WE WALK AWAY. I THINK WE TRY TO FACILITATE A

[01:00:03]

LAST YEAR I SAID IN THE CHAIR NEXT TO THIS ONE AND ONE OF THE FAVORITE RETORTS THAT THE THAT THE BUDGET CHAIR WOULD OFFER WOULD BE, IS THERE A BUDGET QUESTION IN THERE SOMEWHERE? SO AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THE REST OF OUR MEETING TODAY AND THEN ON IN, IF WE COULD REMEMBER THAT WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THE BUDGET. AND SO IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION SPECIFIC TO THE BUDGET, PLEASE, THIS IS THE RIGHT ENVIRONMENT. IF WE'RE GETTING OUTSIDE OF HOW THIS AFFECTS DOLLARS AND CENTS, IF WE COULD LIMIT THOSE CONVERSATIONS TO A DIFFERENT OPPORTUNITY.

COUNCILMAN JOSEPH OH BEFORE THE I SHOULD NOTE THAT COUNCILMAN DAN SAM JOINED US SOME TIME AGO AND I FORGOT TO ANNOUNCE THAT. SO, CLARK, IF YOU COULD PLEASE LET THE RECORD REFLECT.

COUNCILMAN JOSEPH, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. I THINK I HAVE THE EASIEST AND MOST COMPLEX QUESTION. HOW DO WE DETERMINE WHAT THE SOUTH END IS VERSUS THE EAST END VERSUS THE WEST END? I THINK THAT'S A THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING AS WE DEVELOP WHAT THE PROGRAM GUIDANCE IS, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WILL BE IN CONTACT WITH THE WITH THE MEMBERS THAT WE MAY CONSIDER SOUTH END. AND YOU ALL MIGHT GIVE US SOME DIFFERENT FEEDBACK ON THAT. SO I DON'T THINK WE WANT TO AGAIN, I SAY I CHARACTERIZE LIKE PRESTON HIGHWAY AND DIXIE HIGHWAY. I DIDN'T SAY WHERE THE NORTH CUT OFF WAS. OBVIOUSLY, THE SOUTH CUT OFF FOR BOTH OF THOSE IS THE COUNTY LINE. BUT I THINK THAT'S WHERE WE WE'D LOOK FOR SOME GUIDANCE ON THAT, AND WE'D BE HAPPY TO WORK WITH YOU ON WHAT THE WHAT THOSE WHAT THAT GEOGRAPHY IS SPECIFICALLY AND, AND THE BUDGET IMPLICATION THERE IS THE WAY THAT THE MONEY IS BEING SPLIT BETWEEN THOSE DIFFERENT GROUPS. RIGHT. YEAH. THAT WAS THE QUESTION. IF EACH ARE GETTING $3 MILLION, YOU KNOW, WE TALKED WITH THE MAYOR AND HE HAD BROUGHT UP THE POTENTIALLY BARDSTOWN SOUTH, BUT THEN YOU TALKED TO SOMEONE ON DIXIE HIGHWAY, AND THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY GOING TO BE WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO CONSIDER. THE SOUTH END. I JUST WANTED TO HAVE AN IDEA OF WHAT WE EXPECT TO BE THE SOUTH END. AND THE SOUTH END GETS THE SOUTH ENDS 3 MILLION THAT THEY EARN. FAIR ENOUGH. AND HOW THOSE FUNDS ARE DISTRIBUTED. GREAT. WAS THAT YOUR. I DIDN'T MEAN TO INTERRUPT YOUR LAST QUESTION. GREAT. THANK YOU. EVERYONE THAT'S LEFT IN THE QUEUE HAS HAD A CHANCE TO ASK A QUESTION BEFORE. I'VE GOT SEVERAL QUESTIONS MYSELF, SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO HAVING YOU GUYS BACK. BETH OR LATONYA WILL LET YOU KNOW WHEN YOUR CALLBACK IS SCHEDULED FOR. I WOULD ASK MY COLLEAGUES, PLEASE, TWO THINGS. FIRST, IF YOU WERE IN THE QUEUE RIGHT NOW, YOU ALREADY HAD QUESTIONS. PLEASE WRITE THOSE DOWN SO THAT WHEN WE COME BACK, YOU WON'T HAVE FORGOTTEN WHY YOU WERE IN THE QUEUE IN THE FIRST PLACE. AND THEN SECONDLY, IF YOU WOULD PLEASE FORWARD YOUR QUESTIONS TO EITHER LATONYA OR BETH, THEY WILL PROCESS ALL OF THE QUESTIONS THAT WE HAVE. AND THAT WAY INSTEAD OF JEFF GETTING SIX QUESTIONS, SIX REPEATED QUESTIONS THEY WILL GET, I WILL SEND ON THE ONE QUESTION ONLY. SO IF YOU COULD SHARE THOSE WITH LATONYA AND BETH, I'D APPRECIATE IT. THAT BRINGS US TO THE CONCLUSION OF THE HEARING FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. THANKS, JEFF, FOR BEING HERE. THANKS, MISS DUNN. WE'LL TAKE JUST A MOMENT BREAK TO GET CODES AND REGULATIONS SET UP. SO, FOLKS, IF YOU NEED TO TAKE JUST A TWO MINUTE QUICK SNAP OUT OF HERE AND SNAP BACK, WE'LL START BACK SOON.

[01:06:14]

ABOUT. THAT.

AT ALL.

THAT WAS SO MUCH. THANK YOU. BUT I THANK YOU. SO RESEARCH THAT WE HAVE. ONE LAST. PERSON. EXCUSE ME.

[01:10:39]

[ ID 25-0245     Codes and Regulations]

COUNCILMEMBER. PIAGENTINI. COUNCILMEMBER. HUDSON. COUNCILWOMAN. MULVANEY. MULVEY.

WOOLRIDGE. WE'RE JOINED ONLINE BY COUNCILMAN SAM ALSO IN THE CHAMBERS WITH US. OUR COUNCILWOMAN, COUNCILWOMAN HAWKINS, COUNCILMAN JOSEPH, COUNCILMAN HERNDON, I THINK THAT'S EVERYONE. SO AS IS THE CASE, WE'RE GOING TO JUMP RIGHT IN WITH QUESTIONS, IF YOU MAY.

YES, SIR. OUR LAST HEARING TODAY IS WITH CODES AND REGULATIONS. I'D LIKE TO WELCOME THEIR NEW DIRECTOR, RICHARD PRICE, TO THE CHAMBERS. AS A REMINDER, DEPARTMENTS WILL NOT MAKE OPENING COMMENTS, AND WE WILL BEGIN IMMEDIATELY WITH COUNCIL MEMBER QUESTIONS. THE CODES AND REGULATIONS FY 26 PROPOSED OPERATING BUDGET IS 19.2 MILLION. CODES AND REGULATIONS RELY SOLELY ON GENERAL FUND AND AGENCY FUNDS FOR OPERATING BUDGET. LET ME START OFF BY ASKING ABOUT THE 18 POSITIONS THAT WERE FUNDED IN THE DEPARTMENT'S FY 24 BUDGET, DUE TO THE RENTAL REGISTRY ORDINANCE, DUE TO THE RECENT CHANGES TO THE RENTAL REGISTRY REQUIREMENTS, ARE THE 18 POSITIONS STILL NEEDED OR HAVE THESE POSITIONS BEEN ASSIGNED TO OTHER DUTIES? I'D ALSO ASK HOW MANY OF THOSE 18 WERE WERE ACTUALLY HIRED. I KNOW WE PUT THE MONEY IN THE BUDGET, BUT I ALSO KNOW THERE WAS SOME. HIRING IS SOMEWHAT SOMETIMES DIFFICULT.

SO HOW MANY OF THOSE 18 HAVE BEEN HIRED? AND DUE TO THE CHANGES, HOW DO WE INTEND TO DEAL WITH THOSE? OKAY. THANK YOU. YES, WE HAVE HIRED A TOTAL OF 17 FROM THE REGISTRY AND WE HAVE REDIRECTED THE WORK. NOW, KEEP IN MIND SOME OF THEM, WHEN I SAY REDIRECTED TO WORK, MOST ARE STILL WORKING WITH PARTLY WITH THE RENTAL REGISTRY. IN REGARDS TO THE REGISTRY, BECAUSE WE STILL GOT TO LOOK AT THE LEAD AND WORK WITH THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE ABATING THE LEAD THAT'S IN SOME OF THESE RENTAL PROPERTIES. SO YES, WE HAVE REDIRECTED MOST OF THE WORK TO THE ONES THAT THAT WE DIDN'T NEED UNDER THE RENTAL REGISTRY ANYMORE. SO BUT WE DID OUR 17. GREAT. THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN PURVIS. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. THANK YOU, MR. PEREZ, FOR BEING HERE. I JUST WANT TO FIRST START OFF BY. YOUR TEAM, MR. CROW. AND THE OTHER ONES, FOR ALWAYS ACTING EXPEDITIOUSLY WHEN I HAVE AN URGENT REQUEST. SO I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU SO MUCH. MY. I ONLY HAVE TWO QUESTIONS FOR YOU. I JUST WANT TO KNOW ALL OF YOUR POSITIONS FILLED. NO, NOT ALL OF THEM. NO. OKAY. AND ARE YOU YOU THINK THERE'LL BE FILLED BY THIS YEAR OR. YEAH, THERE ARE PLANS TO FILL ALL OF THE POSITIONS. I THINK, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE HAVE BEEN STAYING WITH US NOW, WHICH IS A GOOD THING. HOPE THAT MEANS THAT PEOPLE ARE PUT IN A GOOD WORD OUT THERE, CAUSE THE REGULATIONS IS A GOOD PLACE TO WORK. AND SO WE PLAN TO FILL.

OKAY. AND, YOU KNOW, I'VE ALWAYS BEEN CONCERNED ABOUT THE FACT THAT YOU ALL ARE COMPLAINT DRIVEN INSTEAD OF RANDOMLY DRIVING THE NEIGHBORHOODS. AND I SEE SO MUCH IN THE WEST END DISTRICTS THAT I DRIVE IT, IT IS OVERWHELMING TO HAVE TO WRITE DOWN EVERYTHING AND THEN REPORT EVERYTHING. YOUR DEPARTMENT IS ONE DEPARTMENT THAT I COMMUNICATE WITH WEEKLY ON SOME DEFICIENCIES, BUT I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO SEE YOU ALL BECOME RANDOM, DO RANDOM INSPECTIONS,

[01:15:05]

INSTEAD OF US HAVING TO CALL YOU BECAUSE MOST OF THE TIME RESIDENTS, CONSTITUENTS, THEY SEE SO MUCH BLIGHT, THEY IT JUST IT BECOMES THE NORM FOR THEM AND IT'S NOT NORMAL. AND I WOULD REALLY NOT LIKE TO KNOW IF YOU'RE LOOKING TO PUT IN A PLAN OF ACTION WHERE YOU ALL DRIVE THESE DISTRICTS, SEE THESE DEFICIENCIES AND ADDRESS THEM, INSTEAD OF PEOPLE HAVING TO CALL AND TELL YOU ABOUT, YOU KNOW, A PROPERTY THAT HAS GRASS OR TRASH OR WHAT HAVE YOU. AND LAST THING I'M GOING TO SAY IS THERE ARE SOME CASES WHERE YOU CAN'T SEE THE DEFICIENCIES, BUT PEOPLE ARE CALLING AND COMPLAINING THAT YOU ALL KEEP SHOWING UP, KEEP SHOWING UP, KEEP SHOWING UP. BUT THEN THERE ARE SOME CASES WHERE YOU CAN SEE THESE DEFICIENCIES AND THERE'S NO AGGRESSION ON THESE CASES AT ALL. SO I'M CONFIDENT THAT YOU'RE GOING TO ADDRESS THIS. AND AT SOME POINT IN TIME I WOULD LIKE TO SPEND PROBABLY TWO SOLID DAYS WITH YOU DRIVING THROUGH THE DISTRICT.

YES. OKAY. THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION. YOU KNOW, COMPLAINT DRIVEN CODE ENFORCEMENT DOESN'T WORK ANYMORE, TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, IN REGARDS TO EFFICIENCY, IN REGARDS TO. OKAY. AND THE LAST 14 MONTHS, HAVE, YOU KNOW, CERTIFIED THAT THAT IS TRUE FOR EVEN FOR CODES AND REGULATIONS IN LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, THE BEST WAY TO DO CODE ENFORCEMENT NOW, NUMBER ONE IS DATA DRIVEN.

WE GOT TO BE DATA DRIVEN. WE GOT TO LOOK AT THE DATA. A LOT OF THESE INDIVIDUALS, PROPERTY OWNERS, SLUMLORDS ARE REPEAT OFFENDERS OKAY. AND WE DEAL WITH A LOT OF PEOPLE AND A REVOLVING DOOR OF COMPLAINTS. SO I'VE BEEN CHALLENGING MY TEAM TO MAKE THAT PIVOT. OKAY. WE GOT TO PIVOT FROM. COMPLAINT DRIVEN TO DATA DRIVEN. SO WE SO WE GOT TO TAKE THAT MENTALITY. AND THEN ESSENTIALLY WE NEED TECHNOLOGY. WE GOT TO HAVE TECHNOLOGY. I YOU KNOW THIS THE INDUSTRY HAS MOVED PAST HAS EVOLVED TO THE POINT WHERE WE GOT THERE AS A TECHNOLOGY OUT THERE TO DO EXACTLY WHAT YOU JUST SAID, THAT AS WE DRIVE ALONG, IT WOULD IDENTIFY THESE VIOLATIONS AND THEN WE CAN PUT TOGETHER A STRATEGIC PLAN TO ABATE SOME OF THOSE VIOLATIONS. SO I SHOULD ASSURE YOU THAT WE'RE WORKING ON THAT. WE ARE GOING THAT WAY TO BE A MORE OF A DATA DRIVEN CODE ENFORCEMENT DEPARTMENT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN. COUNCILWOMAN SHAMIKA PARISH. RIGHT. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. AND THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE, DIRECTOR PRICE, AND THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. I QUICKLY WANT TO GIVE MY DISCLAIMER BECAUSE I TRIED TO FOCUS MY QUESTIONS AROUND BUDGETARY ISSUES AND CONCERNS. ONE, THE QUESTIONS AND THINGS THAT I ASK ABOUT ARE FROM OUR CONSTITUENTS. I CAN IMAGINE MY COLLEAGUES, AS WELL AS MYSELF, GET A LOT OF CALLS ABOUT CODES AND REGS ISSUES, BUT I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR I ACTUALLY RESPECT YOUR LEADERSHIP AND THE RESPECT THE WAY YOU SHOW UP IN COMMUNITY. AND WHEN WE HAD A LANDLORD AND RENTERS SOLUTION, YOU CAME AND THAT REALLY HELPED A BIG DEAL. ALTHOUGH ON ANOTHER END I HAVE QUESTIONS AROUND THE TIMELINESS OF PEOPLE GETTING THEIR NOTICES. THAT'S ONE THING THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE COMPLAINING ABOUT, MEANING BY THE TIME THEY GET THEIR NOTICES, THE DEADLINES AND STUFF HAVE PASSED AND THEY'RE TRYING TO APPEAL THOSE PROCESSES. SO IS THAT RELATED TO I KNOW THAT COUNCILWOMAN PURVIS BROUGHT UP THE, YOU KNOW, YOUR VACANCIES. IS THAT RELATED TO HIRING ISSUES? IS THERE SOMETHING THAT CAN BE DONE TO MAKE SURE THESE NOTICES ARE IN A TIMELY MANNER? A MORE YOU KNOW, I'M NOT SAYING THEY'RE ALL LIKE THAT BECAUSE I BELIEVE IN EQUITY OF ENFORCEMENT. THAT'S WHY I DIDN'T JOIN PAGANINI. SLOW CLAP, SLOW CLAP. BECAUSE THERE ARE PARTS OF THE COUNTY THAT FEEL LIKE ON CITY WHO FEEL LIKE THEY GET MORE CODES AND REDS ISSUES OR ADDRESSED IN OTHERS. THERE'S A LOT OF COMPLAINTS, AND ME AND MY COLLEAGUES THAT REPRESENT SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST ARE LIFTING UP ALL THESE ISSUES. SO JUST KNOW THAT THESE ARE COMING FROM CONSTITUENT CONCERNS. SO THE FIRST QUESTION IS WHAT HOW ARE YOU ALL WORKING ON THE DELIVERY OF THESE NOTICES? WELL, THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION. WELL IT'S NOT BECAUSE OF LACK OF STAFF OKAY. IT'S THE MAIL SYSTEM OKAY. WE GOTTA FIX IT. WE ARE SLAVE TO THE POSTAL SERVICE AND GETTING

[01:20:07]

AND ONE OF THE THINGS HE WAS TALKING ABOUT IN OTHER CITIES, THEY USE EMAIL, YOU KNOW, SO MOST PROPERTY OWNERS IS REQUIRED TO HAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS. AND THAT WAY WE CAN SEND THE NOTICES MUCH QUICKER ELECTRONICALLY THAN THROUGH THE MAIL SYSTEM. OUR BIGGEST ISSUE IS THE MAIL SYSTEM. BE HONEST WITH YOU. AND BUT WE TRY TO MANAGE THAT AS, AS AS AS GOOD AS WE CAN. WE WORK WITH PEOPLE THAT DO GET NOTICES LATE IF THEY MAKE ME AWARE OF IT. I'M ALWAYS FAIR TO MAKE SURE THAT IF WE NEED TO TAKE AWAY A CITATION OR WORK SOME OTHER PROCESS, WE DO THAT. BUT WE ARE AWARE THAT IT IS A PROBLEM AND WE'RE WORKING TO GET IT DONE. THANK YOU. AND I'VE NOTICED THAT ON A PERSONAL LEVEL, WITH THE DISCRETION AND SOME OF YOUR FOLKS THAT DO COME OUT WILLING TO FOLLOW UP WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. SO I KNOW THAT SOME OF THAT IS HAPPENING. WE JUST GET A LOT OF CALLS ABOUT, LIKE THE OTHER COUNCIL PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT WHO'S CALLING, HOW MANY TIMES WE HAVE TO CALL. SO WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE SURE WE'RE GIVING THEM ANSWERS THAT MATCH WITH WHAT YOUR OFFICE CAN DO. MY SECOND QUESTION IS I GOT A MESSAGE FROM A CONSTITUENT THAT SAID THAT THEY THEY'RE HEARING THAT THERE'S A NEW SPECIAL TASK FORCE CALLED CREST, WHICH IS APPARENTLY AN ACRONYM, BUT THEY'RE ALLEGEDLY THE GOAL IS SPECIAL TASK FORCE TO AGGRESSIVELY TARGET THE WEST END, IF THAT IS. IF YOU HAVE I KNOW YOU SAID YOU CAN'T JUST BE COMPLAINT DRIVEN IF YOU HAVE THESE TYPES OF TASK FORCE, HAVE YOU ALLOCATED FOR THAT IN YOUR COST? ARE YOU SEEING, YOU KNOW, OTHER AREAS OF TOWN WHERE YOU'RE USING MORE OF YOUR BUDGET TO, YOU KNOW, TO REMEDY THE ISSUES? AND IF THESE THINGS ARE HAPPENING, HOW CAN W WORK TOGETHER TO BE ABLE TO LET THE CONSTITUENTS KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING? OKAY. SO CREST AND I'M PROUD OF THIS SPECIAL TASK FORCE. CREST IS STANDS FOR CODE AND REGULATION ENFORCEMENT SPECIAL TASK FORCE. SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE THE LAST 14 MONTHS, ONE OF THE BIGGEST BARRIERS TO GETTING THINGS DONE IS FOLLOW UP WHAT I FOUND. AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE DATA, WE HAVE A NUMBER OF CASES WHERE WE'VE BEEN THERE 72 TIMES, 95 TIMES, 40 TIMES. AND THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE. SO THE DAY TO DAY ORDINARY CODE ENFORCEMENT INDIVIDUALS CANNOT TIMELY GET THESE THINGS DONE. THERE ARE SPECIAL CASES, MAINLY SAFETY TYPE CASES AND REPEATED OFFENDERS AND UNABLE TO FIND LANDLORDS AND PROPERTY OWNERS. THAT IS WHAT CREST I DISPATCHED CREST TO DO. IT'S A PILOT PROGRAM ESSENTIALLY RIGHT NOW, BECAUSE I WANTED TO SEE IF I CAN PUT TOGETHER A GROUP OF PEOPLE FROM, YOU KNOW, MY BUILDING ZONING, PROPERTY MAINTENANCE DIVISION THAT CAN WORK TOGETHER AS A TEAM AND ABATE SOME OF THESE CONSTANT PROBLEM ISSUES THAT WE CAN GET THERE FASTER.

ANOTHER THING THAT THAT I'M TRYING TO DO IS EDUCATE THE PUBLIC, EDUCATE THE PUBLIC ON WHAT WE DO, HOW WE DO IT, AND WHY WE'RE THERE, AND SO THEY CAN BE A PARTNER AND BE ABLE TO GIVE INFORMATION TO US TO HELP US DO OUR JOB. SO CREST IS A PILOT PROGRAM WITH THOSE INDIVIDUALS I JUST DISCUSSED. IT'S NOT PUTTING A STRAIN ON THE BUDGET BECAUSE THESE ARE INDIVIDUALS THAT'S WORKING WITHIN THEIR CLASSIFICATION, BUT JUST WORKING MORE AS A TEAM TO BE TARGETED.

NOW, I WANT TO BE CLEAR, IT'S ABSOLUTELY NOT TO TARGET THE WEST END, OKAY. HOWEVER, YOU KNOW, 70% OF OUR CASES ARE WEST OF NINTH STREET. OKAY. SOME OF THE MOST DIFFICULT AND COMPLEX CASES ARE WEST OF NINTH STREET. SO I NEED THIS TASK FORCE WORKING DOWN THERE TO ABATE AND TO HELP AND NOT TO HARM. AND THAT'S WHAT I THINK. I HAVE NOT DONE A GOOD JOB SINCE I'VE BEEN IN HERE THE LAST 14 MONTHS. IS GETTING THE WORD OUT OF WHAT WE'RE DOING AND WHY WE'RE DOING IT, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, HOW THEY CAN HELP BECAUSE THEY CAN HELP US A LOT. THANK YOU. AND I HOPE YOU CALL MY OFFICE FOR THAT. AND THE LAST QUESTION IS BETWEEN THE LEAD REGISTRY AND THE MONIES THAT YOU ALL COLLECT FROM FINES AND FEES, WHAT IS THE TRICKLE BACK? HOW DOES THAT COME BACK TO YOUR BUDGET? IS IT A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE? HOW IS THAT GOING? AND DO YOU SEE AN INCREASE IN THAT THAT RELATES TO YOUR RECENT ACTIVITIES IN THE LAST SINCE YOU'VE BEEN HERE? I

[01:25:03]

WE'LL DO SO, SO, BUT I WANTED TO ASK I KNOW THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WAS IN YOUR PLAN WHEN YOU FIRST HAD CAME UP WHEN YOU FIRST CAME IN, AND THAT IS THAT I UNDERSTAND THAT IT'S NOT YOU GUYS DON'T ARE NOT COMPLAINT DRIVEN, BUT I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE LOOKING ALSO IN THE SET OF LENSES OF THE PEOPLE THAT MAKE THE CALLS AND, AND, AND DON'T BE DEVELOPER DRIVEN BECAUSE I FOUND THAT DEVELOPERS ARE TARGETING THE WEST END AREA COLONY AND ON A LOT OF THESE HOUSES THAT THEY SEE FIT THAT THEY WANT TO TAKE OVER. SO IF THEY CAN GET, YOU KNOW, IF THEY CAN GET THIS HOUSE WITH A LOT OF FANS AND, YOU KNOW, SO, SO JUST LOOKING AT IT NOT SO MUCH AS

[01:30:04]

YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, WAS THAT ANYWHERE IN THERE? DID I MISS IN THE BUDGET? WELL, IN REGARDS TO THE GUTTERS, I THINK YOU'RE SPEAKING. ARE YOU SPEAKING ABOUT THAT? WAS AN PROPERTY OWNER.

YES. YES, SIR. WOULD NOT FIX THEIR PROPERTY OR OR THEY DIDN'T THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANYONE, LET'S SAY A SENIOR. OKAY. YEAH. WAS THAT ANYWHERE? DID I MISS THAT ANYWHERE OR. THAT'S ON DOWN THE LINE. I KNOW IT WAS YOU. I KNOW YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO IMPLEMENT IT. I JUST DIDN'T KNOW IF THAT WAS GOING TO BE MAYBE FOR NEXT YEAR IN THE BUDGET. I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT I DIDN'T MISS THAT ANYWHERE IN THE BUDGET. YEAH. SO I KNOW IN REGARDS TO A PROPERTY LIKE A SENIOR THAT CANNOT FIX OR THEY HAVE A PROPERTY MAINTENANCE ISSUE, THEY HAVE A PROPERTY ALLEVIATION PROGRAM IN HOUSING. NOW, I WILL SAY ABOUT THAT PROGRAM THAT I HAVE LOOKED INTO THAT AND WE GOT TO FIX IT WHERE IT'S NOT SO COMPLICATED FOR A SENIOR TO GET TO IT. OKAY. SO YES, WE'RE WORKING ON THAT TO HELP THAT PROCESS. BUT I THINK THAT THAT'S THE PROCESS PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT. AND AGAIN, THERE AGAIN, I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE AT CODES AND REGULATIONS WE NEED TO EDUCATE MORE, GET THE WORD OUT. SO PEOPLE WILL HAVE THIS TYPE OF INFORMATION TO DO THAT. IN REGARDS TO SECOND SHIFT, I THINK WE'RE TO THE POINT WHERE WE NEED A SECOND SHIFT. IS IT IN THE BUDGET? ABSOLUTELY DO. BUT WITH THAT BEING SAID, YOU KNOW, I GOTTA DO I GOTTA DO THE RESEARCH BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THIS WORK IS VERY DIFFICULT. IT'S VERY AGGRESSIVE. AND WE GOING TO NEED NOT WE'RE NOT WE'RE GOING TO NEED MORE THAN JUST ONE OR 2 OR 3 PEOPLE. WE'RE GOING TO NEED A FULL STAFF. AND I NEED TO RESEARCH AND EVALUATE WHAT THAT LOOKED LIKE BEFORE I CAN PRESENT TO OMB OR OR MY BOSS ABOUT MAYBE FUNDING A FULL SECOND SHIFT. NOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'M DOING GOES BACK TO KRESS. YOU KNOW, KRESS. I GOT THEM WORKING SOME OF OUR, YOU KNOW, ISSUES THAT WE CAN'T SEE DURING THE DAY THAT THEY ARE WORKING AT NIGHT. OKAY, TO GO LOOK AT SOME OF THESE ISSUES AND TARGETING SOME OF THE THINGS, COMPLAINTS THAT COME IN ABOUT THE THINGS THAT ILLEGAL JUNKYARDS THAT WORK AT NIGHT AND SO ON AND SO FORTH. SO THAT'S PART OF MY PILOT PROGRAM WITH KRESS, AND I'M GATHERING INFORMATION TO SEE. I DO BELIEVE WE NEED A SECOND SHIFT. LET ME SAY THAT FOR WHAT THAT LOOKED LIKE AND WHAT THE COST OF WHAT THAT LOOKED LIKE, I'M STILL DOING THE RESEARCH ON IT. OKAY. SO IT'S NOT IN THE BUDGET, RIGHT? NO, NO, NOT NOT THIS BUDGET CYCLE. NO. THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN PIAGENTINI. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. FIRST OF ALL, TO CLARIFY MY SLOW CLAP FOR NOT DOING COMPLAINT DRIVEN IS WHICH I THINK HOPEFULLY MY, MY COLLEAGUE WILL ACTUALLY AGREE. I'LL JUST JUXTAPOSE MY DISTRICT WITH SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES DISTRICTS. MY DISTRICT WOULD CALL CODES AND REGS 17 TIMES A DAY FOR A SIGN THAT'S A QUARTER INCH ASKEW, AND IF YOU'RE DOING IT JUST BY COMPLAINTS, MY DISTRICT WOULD HAVE A FLEET OF CODES AND REGS, PEOPLE COMING UP THAT WAY. AND THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY THE HIGHEST PRIORITY THING THAT'S COMING UP. SO I THINK DOING IT IN A MORE I THINK DATA IS EXACTLY RIGHT, 100%. IF I IS GOING TO HELP ANY DEPARTMENT, I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE YOURS, BY THE WAY, AND DOING IT IN A WAY THAT THAT AGAIN, TAKES ALL OF THE DATA AND SAYS, HERE'S OUR REAL PROBLEMS,

[01:35:05]

DEPARTMENT OF THIS SIZE IN 14 MONTHS AND GET IT TO THE EFFICIENCY WHERE IT NEEDS TO GO, BUT I'M CONFIDENT THAT WE'LL GET THERE AS REGARD IN REGARDS TO THE POSITIONS, THE TEN, THAT'S THE NUMBER YOU USE. THE TEN POSITIONS JUST MADE UP TEN. IT WAS 18 POSITIONS THAT WERE ASSUMED TO BE PART OF IMPLEMENTING THAT LAW. SO THE QUESTION IS I'M ASSUMING YOU STILL NEED A FEW OF THEM, BUT HOW MANY OF THEM DO YOU ACTUALLY NEED? AND WHAT ARE WE DOING WITH THE BALANCE FOR RIGHT NOW? I THINK FOR, FOR, FOR NOW. AND THE JURY STILL IS STILL OUT FOR NOW.

I NEED ALL OF THEM AND HERE'S WHY. SO, YOU KNOW, I'M I'M PARTNERING WITH THE HEALTH

[01:40:05]

SO I'VE IDENTIFIED 30,000 RENTAL PROPERTIES THAT IS NOT ON THE RENTAL REGISTRY. OKAY. AND 20,000 IS WAS BUILT BEFORE 1978. SO THERE'S A POTENTIAL FOR LEAD NOW. I NEED THESE GUYS AND THESE LADIES. WITH A PURPOSE AND TARGETING THESE HOUSES THAT WAS BUILT BEFORE 1970 TO IDENTIFY AND LOOK AT LEAD. ONE OF THE THINGS WE HAVE DONE, WE'VE CHANGED ALREADY IS ALERT OUR OFFICERS THAT WHEN YOU AT CERTAIN HOUSES THAT WAS BUILT IN THAT TIME FRAME, LOOK AT IF YOU SEE BARE GROUND, TEST IT. IF YOU GET INTO THE HOUSE, YOU SEE THE, THE CRACK AND PAINT. WE TEST IT FOR LEAD. SO WE CAN ABATE THAT. THAT'S GOING TO BE A BIG UNDERTAKING. AND WE HAVE DEVELOPED, ALONG WITH THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT, A WORKFLOW TO MAKE THAT EFFICIENT. AND IT'S GOING TO TAKE PEOPLE TO DO IT. SO YOU MAY BE RIGHT, BUT I CAN'T SAY THAT WE DON'T NEED THOSE INDIVIDUALS RIGHT NOW BECAUSE WE REALLY GOT TO DO SOME TARGETING AS IT RELATES TO THE LEAD. SO THEN JUST AS A FINAL COMMENT, I WOULD SAY, OKAY. AND LOOK, RIGHT NOW WE HAVE THE BUDGET TO ABSORB THIS. AND I THINK BECAUSE YOU ARE RUNNING THE DEPARTMENT BETTER, I THINK THERE'S SOME LATITUDE TO DO THIS. AND SO I'M NOT COMPLAINING ABOUT THE BUDGET NOW. I'M JUST SAYING IF THIS GROWTH CONTINUES, I CAN TELL YOU THERE'S GOING TO COME A DAY WHEN WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO FORCE DEPARTMENTS TO BE THE ONES THAT ARE GROWING THIS QUICKLY, DISPROPORTIONATELY TO OTHER DEPARTMENTS, TO MAKE CUTS OR TO REDUCE THEIR GROWTH RATE. SO I'M HOPING THAT THROUGH, TO YOUR POINT, OPERATING EFFICIENCIES AND OTHER USING TECHNOLOGY, DOING THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, IF WE CAN GET THIS TO A MORE SUSTAINABLE GROWTH LEVEL, I THINK THEN WE CAN ASSURE THAT WE HAVE A GOOD CODES AND REGS DEPARTMENT MOVING FORWARD. I'M JUST SORT OF SOUNDING THE ALARM NOW SO WE DON'T FIND OURSELVES IN, LET'S SAY, TWO YEARS GOING BACK AND SAYING, OH, WE GOT TO CUT BACK BECAUSE WE DIDN'T IDENTIFY THIS AHEAD OF TIME. OKAY. THANK YOU. AS FAR AS THE LEAD AND THE FULLY SUPPORT WE NEED TO REMEDIATE LEAD ZERO QUESTION. I FULLY SUPPORT MOVING THAT FORWARD. I WOULD ASK AND I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU'RE DOING IT, BUT JUST TO BE CAREFUL BECAUSE I DO KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, ONE LANDLORD THAT RECEIVED IT WAS FROM THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT, NOT YOU ALL TAKE IT UP WITH THEM, BUT A LETTER FOR LEAD ABATEMENT. AND THAT HOUSE HAD ACTUALLY BEEN BUILT IN THE 90S. THEY HAD THEY HAD LEVELED THE HOUSE AND REBUILT A NEW ONE. OKAY. AND THEN THERE WERE, YOU KNOW, BUT THEY MAY NOT HAVE HAD THAT IN THE RECORDS. SO BUT THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. APPRECIATE IT. YEAH. AND THANK YOU FOR SOUNDING THE ALARM ON THE GROWTH. AND AS DULY NOTED. AND I'M I'M GOING TO TRUST ANGIE AND AARON TO BRING ME IN. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN.

COUNCILMAN ARENA WEBER BRING YOU IN, BUT NOT YET BECAUSE THERE'S STILL WORK TO DO. OKAY. YES, SIR. YEAH. AGAIN, I WILL JUST ECHO MY COLLEAGUES WHO JUST REALLY APPRECIATED YOUR LEADERSHIP AND YOUR FOCUS ON GETTING THINGS DONE. I KNOW THAT WHEN WE FIRST MET, YOU KNOW, THERE WERE ONE OF THE ISSUES THAT WE TALKED ABOUT WAS JUST THE TIME IT TAKES TO APPROVE AND THEN TO DO SOME ENFORCEMENT. CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE PROGRESS THAT HAS BEEN MADE, AND ARE YOU STAFF TO CONTINUE TO MEASURE THAT PROGRESS? THE PROGRESS ON AROUND TIME TO ENFORCEMENT, TIME TO PERMITS, TIME TO ONCE SOMETHING IS REPORTED, CAN YOU GET THERE AND THEN DO THE ENFORCEMENT PIECES? YES. SO, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE IMPROVED ON THAT SIGNIFICANTLY.

YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT IT'S STILL NOWHERE NEAR WHAT WE NEED TO BE. BUT I'VE CHANGED THE WAY I'M TRYING SOME THINGS TO CHANGE UP THE WAY WE DO CODE ENFORCEMENT TO SET IT UP WHERE YOU HAVE YOUR LESS EXPERIENCED CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS, BE MORE LIKE THE, YOU KNOW, THE BOOTS ON THE GROUND THERE EVERY DAY, YOU KNOW, JUST THE GENERAL COMPLAINT TYPE. AND THEN WE HAVE A GROUP THAT ARE INVESTIGATORS THAT TEND TO GO OUT AND LOOK AT THINGS AND BE A LITTLE BIT MORE PROACTIVE. AND THEN I HAVE CHRIS THAT WOULD WORK TOGETHER WITH ALL OF IT TO BRING TOGETHER THE SENSE OF URGENCY THAT I, THAT I HAVE, YOU KNOW, CHALLENGED MY DEPARTMENT AND MY TEAM TO BE TO ACT AND TO WORK HAS MADE A DIFFERENCE IN GETTING THINGS DONE AGAIN. WHEN I FIRST CAME, THE BIGGEST THING WAS FOLLOW UP. WE DIDN'T FOLLOW UP ON ANYTHING, OKAY. AND THINGS LAID THERE. AND SO WE'RE DOING BETTER FOLLOW UP. WE ARE GETTING THERE QUICKER. AND I SHOULD HAVE MENTIONED THIS EARLIER WHEN I WAS TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE NEED TO BE NOW. AND THAT IS I'M ESTABLISHING PARTNERSHIPS WITH, YOU KNOW, NOT ONLY BEING IN THE COMMUNITIES BUT WITH WITH

[01:45:09]

HELP US GET THE WORD OUT. OKAY. HELP US GET THE WORD OUT THAT, HEY, THIS IS WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO. THIS IS HOW WE'VE BEEN AGGRESSIVE. AND HERE'S HOW YOU CAN HELP. AND IT'S WORKING.

EXCELLENT. I'M REALLY GLAD TO HEAR THAT. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIFIC TECHNOLOGY ROADMAP. AND WE'VE TALKED A LOT ABOUT. THIS IS AN AREA WHERE THERE'S A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY. AND THIS MIGHT BE AN AG QUESTION AS WELL, OR WHETHER WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE OR THE RESOURCES THAT YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING TO NEED. YES. SO THERE IS TECHNOLOGY IN REGARDS TO PROPERTY MAINTENANCE AND ZONING, THAT THERE'S AI TECHNOLOGY THAT CAN REALLY. YOU KNOW, IT'S CALLED CITY DETECT.

OKAY. YOU CAN PLACE THESE CAMERAS ON A ON YOUR VEHICLES. AND AS YOU DRIVE, YOU PUT THE, THE PROPERTY MAINTENANCE CODE, THE NUISANCE CODE, ALL OF THOSE CODES. AND AI LEARNS IT. AND AS THEY DRIVE, YOU CAN DRIVE FIVE MILES AN HOUR, 50 MILES AN HOUR. IT IDENTIFIES, YOU KNOW, WE GOT WHAT YOU GOT THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE IN THERE, AND IT IDENTIFIES THOSE VIOLATIONS.

NOW, MY GOAL IS TO TAKE THAT INFORMATION WITH THE ANALYST AND WE CAN ANALYZE IT. MYSELF. AND MR. CROWE IS GOING TO MAKE DECISIONS ON HOW WE DO CODE ENFORCEMENT. AND, COUNCILMAN PIACENTINI, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT REDUCING OUR FOOTPRINT, YOU KNOW, IS GROWING THAT THAT'S GOING TO HELP. NOW, I'M NOT IN THE BUSINESS OF, YOU KNOW, GETTING RID OF JOBS. ABSOLUTELY NOT. BUT IT WILL PUT US IN A POSITION TO BE MORE EFFICIENT. AND, YOU KNOW, THE BEST THING I LIKE ABOUT AI IS THAT IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT WORKS 365 DAYS A YEAR, NEVER TAKES A VACATION, NEVER TAKES A SICK DAY, NEVER FILES A COMPLAINT, AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S AMAZING. AND I THINK WITH, YOU KNOW, I GOT ENOUGH SMART PEOPLE IN MY, IN MY ROOM TO BE ABLE TO TAKE THIS TECHNOLOGY AND REVOLUTIONIZE CODE ENFORCEMENT. OKAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. YOU'RE WELCOME. THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN LINENGER. THANK YOU. SO, YOU KNOW, AS YOU KNOW, MY DISTRICT IS, YOU KNOW, NECK AND NECK WITH DISTRICT FOUR FOR BEING THE SECOND HIGHEST IN VOLUME YEAR TO YEAR FOR THESE, YOU KNOW, THE PROBLEMS THAT WE HAVE WITH CODE ENFORCEMENT, PARTICULARLY, WE HAVE A LOT OF PROBLEMS WITH VACANT ABANDONED PROPERTIES. SO I HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS AROUND THAT. FIRST, WHAT IS THE AVERAGE TURNAROUND TIME FOR OUR PROBLEM PROPERTIES AND ENFORCEMENT, AND HOW MANY DO WE HAVE THAT ARE OUTSIDE OF THAT TURNAROUND TIME CURRENTLY? WELL, UNFORTUNATELY WE HAVE SO MANY PROBLEM PROPERTIES IN YOUR DISTRICT. OKAY. AND I REALLY CAN'T IDENTIFY I WILL HAVE TO GET THOSE NUMBERS SPECIFICALLY FOR YOU WHAT THAT TURNAROUND TIME IS. I DO KNOW WE ARE TARGETING VACANT AND ABANDONED PROPERTIES. OKAY. I'M WORKING WITH CHIEF UMPHREY WITH HIS CRIME PLAN TO ABATE. AND NUMBER ONE, FIRST OF ALL, IDENTIFY WE ARE SPECIFICALLY LOOKING FOR FAKING PROPERTIES THAT ARE NOT SECURED. WE'RE SECURING THOSE PROPERTIES AND DOING WHAT WE CAN TO KEEP THEM SECURE. OKAY. AND THEN WE ARE. KEEPING THEM CLEAN. SO WE ENGAGE THE PROPERTY OWNER IF WE CAN, IF WE GOT SOME, IF THE PROPERTY IS NOT A ABANDONED AND WE HAVE A OWNER, WE ENGAGE THAT OWNER TO TAKE CARE OF HIS PROPERTY AND KEEP HIS GOOD. IF THEY DON'T, THEN WE DO IT JUST TO KEEP IT GOING. THAT TURNAROUND TIME. I DON'T HAVE THE SPECIFIC NUMBERS, BUT WE ACT QUICKLY ON THAT. WE REALLY DO BECAUSE I'VE DECLARED AN EMERGENCY FOR ALL VACANT AND ABANDONED PROPERTIES THAT THEY MUST BE SECURED WITH CLEAR BOARD THAT WE WOULD NOT. SO THEY WON'T BURN DOWN. SO I CAN GET YOU THOSE NUMBERS IF YOU WANT THEM. THERE'S THAT TURNAROUND TIME SPECIFICALLY FOR YOUR DISTRICT AND THE VACANT ABANDONED PROPERTIES. YEAH. AND DO WE FEEL LIKE WE HAVE ENOUGH STAFF FOR ADDRESSING THIS OR DO WE NEED AN INVESTMENT? BUDGETARILY YOU KNOW, SPECIFICALLY ON THIS PROBLEM? NO, I DO NOT. I DON'T THINK WE NEED THE I NEED TECHNOLOGY. THAT'S WHAT I NEED. TECHNOLOGY EVEN WOULD HELP WITH THIS SITUATION BECAUSE AGAIN, THE TECHNOLOGY IS THERE TO IDENTIFY THESE THINGS. AND INSTEAD OF, YOU KNOW, AS WE YOU

[01:50:04]

THAT'S REALLY IMPACTING THE CHARACTER AND QUALITY OF OUR NEIGHBORHOODS, IF FREQUENTLY A PROBLEM THAT WE HAVE WITH THIS, WITH ENFORCEMENT IS THAT THEY'RE HIDING BEHIND LLCS, LAYERS OF LLCS. DO WE HAVE ANY PLANS FOR STAFFING, FOR RESEARCH, FOR GETTING INTO THE WEEDS ON THE LLCS THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, BAD ACTORS AND TRYING TO IDENTIFY THE COMMON, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE BEHIND THOSE LLCS AND BEING ABLE TO REALLY GET SOME TEETH IN OUR ENFORCEMENT. DO WE HAVE ANY PLANS FOR STAFFING FOR RESEARCH? WELL, NO. AND THERE IS TECHNOLOGY WE HAVE NOW THAT WE CAN TRY TO FIND PEOPLE. AND I DO HAVE THE STAFF TO DO THAT. WE ACTUALLY DO THAT. GOTTA GO DEEPER BECAUSE IT IS SO HARD TO FIND THESE PEOPLE BEHIND THESE LLCS. MAYBE WE NEED AN ORDINANCE CHANGE AND I, I HATE TO SAY THAT, BUT THE REALITY IS WE GOT TO FIX THESE PROPERTY OWNERS, PARTICULARLY THE ONES THAT ARE OUT OF STATE. I GOT ONE NOW THAT WE TALKED ABOUT TODAY.

MEADOWOOD, YOU KNOW, THESE PROPERTY OWNERS HAVE SET THIS LLC UP WHERE IT'S HARD TO EVEN SERVE THEM. YEAH. YOU KNOW, THE ORDINANCE REQUIRED US TO GIVE THEM NOTICE THAT THEY HAVE SET THIS. THEY HAVE THEY HIDE BEHIND THIS LLC AND THESE. AND IT MAKES IT DIFFICULT FOR US TO DO OUR JOB. AND I THINK THAT'S WHERE WE NEED TO GO. WE NEED TO LOOK AT MAYBE LOOKING AT THE, YOU KNOW, ADDING SOMETHING OR CHANGING THE ORDINANCE WHERE THEY WON'T BE ALLOWED TO DO THAT. I'M ALWAYS DOING RESEARCH ON HOW WE CAN GET AROUND, YOU KNOW, THIS GAME OF CAT AND MOUSE WITH THESE PEOPLE, WITH THESE LLCS AND THESE ALLENTOWN PROPERTY OWNERS. THANK YOU. IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO TALK WITH YOU, DIRECTOR. YES, SIR. THANK YOU. WE HAVE THREE, FOUR PEOPLE LEFT IN THE QUEUE. WE'RE GOING TO BE OVER BY JUST A FEW MINUTES. I HOPE THAT'S OKAY. YEAH, THAT'S FOR PEOPLE IN THE QUEUE WHO HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO SPEAK. SO. ABSOLUTELY. I'D LIKE TO GO AHEAD AND ALLOW THAT TO HAPPEN. AND THEN COUNCILOR WEBER HAD AN IMMEDIATE FOLLOW UP TO THAT QUESTION. IT WAS REALLY FOLLOWING UP ON COUNCILMAN LEININGER'S. YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THOSE VACANT PROPERTIES, IT'S GREAT IF WE CAN GIVE HIM OR US A THING, BUT REALLY, IT'D BE MUCH BETTER TO REOPEN THE PORTAL SO WE CAN ALL SEE THE STATUS OF THESE VACANT AND ABANDONED PROPERTIES. THAT WOULD BE AN EASY TECHNOLOGY FIX. YES, THAT WAS IT. THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN PURVIS. I'M SORRY.

MR. PRICE, SINCE THERE'S BEEN SO MANY CHANGES, WHO IS YOUR WHO ARE YOU REPORTING TO DIRECTLY NOW? I REPORT TO JEFF O'BRIEN. OKAY, THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT. OKAY. I'VE LOST MY MIND. SO YOU CAN ALWAYS CALL ME LATER. BUT, BUT BUT I WANTED TO SAY COUNCILMAN LININGER IS DEAD ON IT. CARMEN AND I, WE SPENT A LOT OF TIME RESEARCHING WHO OWNS THIS PROPERTY AND ALSO REALIZING THAT SOMETIMES THESE LLCS HAVE ANOTHER NAME. AND, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'D LIKE, I'M SURE COUNCILMAN LANIGAN AND WOULD AGREE. MAYBE WE CAN MEET AND SEE IF WE CAN CREATE SOME TYPE OF LEGISLATION THAT WOULD ADDRESS THIS. BECAUSE THIS IS CRAZY. YEAH, WELL, I'M OPEN. ABSOLUTELY. BECAUSE I, I DO THINK IT'S NEEDED, I REALLY DO. AND WE'VE COME TO A TIME THAT WHAT'S NEEDED, IT'S A LOT OF WASTED TIME ON YOU AND YOUR STAFF. YES. THANK YOU. YOU'RE WELCOME. THANK YOU. COUNCILWOMAN CHAPEL. HELLO, DIRECTOR PRICE, THANKS FOR BEING HERE TODAY. YOU KNOW THAT I HAVE AN AFFINITY FOR OUR CODES AND REGS DEPARTMENT, RIGHT? BUT, YOU KNOW, COUNCILMAN PIAGENTINI WAS KIND OF SNIFFING DOWN A TRAIL. I DON'T THINK THAT WE WERE GOING TO THE SAME DESTINATION, BUT WE WERE ON THE SAME PATHWAY. JUST NOTICING YOUR EMPLOYEES. IN FISCAL YEAR 24, YOU HAD 176. NOW YOU'RE UP TO 100. AND SORRY, 201. THE FINES FROM YOUR DEPARTMENT, IT LOOKS LIKE, HAVE STAYED PRETTY STAGNANT AT $420,000. ABOUT. AND MY QUESTION ISN'T SO MUCH, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE NOT DOING THE WORK BECAUSE I KNOW THAT YOU ALL ARE DOING GREAT WORK. YOU'RE THERE FOR OUR OFFICE. ANYTIME THAT WE CALL. MY LEGISLATIVE AIDE ACTUALLY SAID THAT SHE'S VERY THANKFUL FOR CODES AND REGS BEFORE WE CAME IN HERE. BUT I WAS JUST WONDERING, WITH YOUR STAFF GETTING LARGER, YOUR

[01:55:04]

THAT'S A GREAT IDEA. I HADN'T THOUGHT ABOUT IT. I WILL TELL YOU THIS, THOUGH. YOU KNOW WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE FINES, YOU KNOW, STAGNATED THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT'S COMING IN, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN ENGAGING SOME PROPERTY OWNERS WHERE WE DIDN'T HAVE TO GIVE THAT CITATION, BECAUSE THE REALITY IS WE CAN'T CITE OUR WAY OUT OF THIS HUGE ISSUE THAT WE HAVE. SO IF IT GOES DOWN, IT PROBABLY FOR THE OVERALL COMMUNITY, A GOOD THING. BUT IN REGARDS TO THE FINES, YEAH, YOU KNOW, ABSOLUTELY. I THINK IT IT MAY BE TIME TO DO IT. I KNOW UNDER THE, YOU KNOW, THE CONSTRUCTION REVIEW DIVISION, IT'S TIME TO RAISE THOSE FINES AND FEES, YOU KNOW, ON THAT ONE. SO I WOULD LOOK INTO THAT. I WOULD DEFINITELY GIVE THAT SOME RESEARCH. SURE. AND ALSO IN TALKING ABOUT FINES, PARKING FINES, ARE YOU ALL ISSUING PARKING TICKETS. YES WE ARE. IS THAT ON PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY STREETS OR JUST ON PROPERTIES THAT HAVE IMPROPERLY PARKED CARS, IMPROPERLY PARKED CARS WHERE THEY GET WE OKAY. SO WE TRY TO STAY AWAY AWAY FROM DOING PARK JOB AND LEAVE LMPD'S JOB. STAY AWAY FROM THAT. WE ONLY DO THE ONES IN THE RIGHT OF WAY THAT MAYBE HAVE EXPIRED TAGS AND BECOME A NUISANCE. SO WE LOOK AT VEHICLES THAT HAVE BECOME A NUISANCE TO THE THAT'S IN THE PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY, THAT HAS BECOME A NUISANCE, IS THE ONE THAT WE REALLY GO AFTER. AND WE DO ISSUE PARKING TICKETS. YES.

THANK YOU SO MUCH. PARKING IS JUST KIND OF LIKE A HOT POTATO. IT'S A VERY HOT POTATO, LMPD. I LOOK THEM IN THE EYE AND SAY, I WOULD BE AGHAST IF THEY ISSUED A PARKING TICKET ANYTIME IN THE LAST YEAR. PROVE ME WRONG. BUT DON'T DON'T PUT THAT TICKET ON MY CAR. RIGHT? RIGHT. OKAY.

THANK YOU. YOU'RE WELCOME. THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN HAWKINS. THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN WINKLER. THANK YOU. JUST REALLY, 1 OR 2 VERY QUICK QUESTIONS IN YOUR OBJECTIVES IN THE BUDGET, YOU KNOW, YOU HIGHLIGHT THE DESIRE TO REDUCE VACANT AND ABANDONED PROPERTIES BY 10% IN 100% COMPLIANCE WITH THE RENTAL REGISTRY AND COMPLETE ALL SECTION EIGHT INSPECTIONS WITHIN 14 DAYS. MY QUESTION IS, DO YOU THINK THAT THIS BUDGET WILL ENABLE YOU TO HIT THOSE GOALS? ABSOLUTELY, ABSOLUTELY. YEAH. THAT IS A VERY ACHIEVABLE GOAL WITH THE BUDGET I HAVE NOW.

OKAY. THANK YOU. AND I APOLOGIZE FOR I HAD A WORK CALL. I MISSED THE FIRST PART OF THE MEETING.

SO IF THIS HAS BEEN ASKED JUST TELL ME. AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER. BUT GIVEN THE INCREASE IN STAFFING, I SAW THAT YOUR OVERTIME BUDGET IS ALSO SET TO INCREASE 80%. YES. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WHY THAT IS? WELL, FIRST AND FOREMOST, WE HAD A TOUGH WINTER, SO A LOT OF OUR UNSCHEDULED I'M ASSUMING THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE CORRECT. YES. THE UNSCHEDULED OVERTIME. THE UNSCHEDULED OVERTIME IS DRIVEN A LOT BY OUR VACANT LOTS DIVISION. AND PARTNERING WITH PUBLIC WORKS TO REMOVE SNOW. OKAY. AND WE HAD A TOUGH WINTER. NOW, I WILL SAY, ON TOP OF THAT, WE HAVE BEEN DOING SOME AGGRESSIVE THINGS THAT HAS LED TO OVERTIME. LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THIS HUGE ISSUE WITH THE KENTUCKY HOME LIFE BUILDING. YOU KNOW WE GOTTA GET THAT SECURED WORKING GUYS.

YOU KNOW THERE WAS OVERTIME FOR THINGS LIKE THAT. SO BUT MOST OF IT'S COMING FROM THE SNOW OKAY.

SO SNOW ASIDE RIGHT. HOPEFULLY. YEAH. ONCE IN A EVERY FOUR YEAR EVENT IN TERMS OF THE OTHER UNSCHEDULED OVERTIME, HOW MANY OPEN POSITIONS DO YOU HAVE RIGHT NOW AND WOULD IS THE BETTER ANSWER ADDING A POSITION OR TWO. YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE ABLE TO FULLY STAFF VERSUS HAVING MORE? I MEAN, AGAIN, THERE'S SORT OF WE'VE I'VE ASKED THIS QUESTION MULTIPLE TIMES. THERE'S A TIPPING POINT WHERE OVERTIME IS THE BETTER OPTION UNTIL YOU SORT OF REACH THE COST OF ANOTHER

[02:00:01]

AND I APOLOGIZE. ONE LAST QUESTION. SO YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE SNOW BECAUSE THIS IS THE PROPOSED BUDGET FOR NEXT YEAR. SO HOW IS THE SNOW FACTORING INTO NEXT YEAR'S OVERTIME. WHAT. WE DON'T KNOW I MEAN SO YOU'RE JUST YOU'VE GOT IT THERE JUST OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO BE. YEAH I'D RATHER HAVE IT AND NOT NEED IT THAN NEED IT AND NOT HAVE IT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ALL RIGHT, COUNCILMAN HERNDON. THANK YOU SIR. COUNCILMAN LANIER IS CORRECT THAT D6 AND D4 IN A FIGHT FOR THE LEAD IN A CATEGORY, WE WOULD RATHER NOT BE IN. SO IF YOU HAVE BEST PRACTICE LANGUAGE THAT YOU FIND FROM ANOTHER JURISDICTION, THEY CAN HELP US SOLVE THIS LLC PROBLEM AND FIND THE BAD ACTORS. COUNT ME IN AS WELL. WITH COUNCILMAN PURVIS, I THINK WE NEED TO GET GET DOWN TO BUSINESS. I JUST WANT TO LET EVERYBODY KNOW THAT I. I GOT MY FIRST CONSTITUENT CALL A MONTH AFTER I WON THE PRIMARY, SIX MONTHS BEFORE I WAS SWORN IN, AND I GAVE YOU A CALL, AND YOU TOOK CARE OF BUSINESS RIGHT QUICK. AND YOU HAVE DONE SO EVERY SINGLE TIME. AND I WANT TO COMMEND YOU FOR THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING. I KNOW WHAT YOU INHERITED AND WHAT YOU'RE THE JOB YOU GOT TO DO. AND I SAY THAT TO PEOPLE WHEN YOU'RE NOT IN THE ROOM AND WE'RE NOT ON CAMERA. SO I JUST WANTED YOU TO KNOW THAT THE AND THE FEEDBACK I'VE GOTTEN HAS BEEN UNIVERSALLY POSITIVE AS WELL. SO PLEASE KNOW THAT YOU'RE YOU'RE SEEN AS DOING A GREAT JOB. AND I, I KNOW WE WOULD ALL LIKE TO HELP YOU DO THE THAT JOB EVEN BETTER.

ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU COUNCILMAN. OKAY. NO ONE ELSE IS IN THE QUEUE. WE'RE JUST A LITTLE BIT OVER TIME, SO I APOLOGIZE FOR KEEPING YOU UP LAST. IT'S MORE OF A REQUEST OF OMB. THERE IS A PROJECT YOU'RE GOING TO LOVE THAT THIS IS WHERE MY BRAIN IS. THERE'S A PROJECT CALLED COMP PLAN REVIEW AND UPDATE. THE BUDGET WAS FOR $46,960.92. IT HAS BEEN FINISHED, AND THERE IS A REMAINING BALANCE OF $0.80. I'M HOPING AT SOME POINT WE MIGHT WIPE THAT OFF THE BOOKS. THANK YOU. THAT CONCLUDES OUR HEARINGS FOR TODAY. OUR NEXT SCHEDULED MEETING IS TUESDAY AT 3:00. NO, PLEASE. THAT THAT'S AN EARLIER START THAN WHAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO HERE TO FOUR. SO LOOK FORWARD TO BEING TOGETHER FOR EXTERNAL AGENCIES AND PUBLIC

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.