The amount of state funding coming to Kentucky’s largest city to support downtown revitalization, education, health care and other priorities comes at a time when urban-rural disparities in the Bluegrass State were being debated. “It’s now behind us,” Louisville’s mayor said Monday.
The new two-year state budget passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature will pump more than $1 billion into Louisville, reflecting the city’s role as an economic catalyst that benefits the entire state. said the lawmakers.
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Republican Congressman and first-term Democratic Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg spoke of the cooperation achieved during the 60-day legislative session that ended two weeks ago.
“For too long, people have been talking about this urban-rural divide that divides Louisville from the rest of the state,” Greenberg said at a news conference attended by dozens of lawmakers in downtown Louisville. said. “Well, those days are long gone.”
“We may not agree on every issue,” he said. “What we’ve shown in this session is that’s OK. There’s a lot of common ground. There’s a lot of things we agree on.”
There was no mention of the divisive issues past and present that have led some Democrats to declare that the rural-majority Republican Congress is waging a “war on Louisville.” During the just-ended session, Republican lawmakers passed a bill that would make the mayoral election in Louisville, the state’s most Democratic city, nonpartisan. And lawmakers repealed efforts in Louisville and Lexington to prohibit landlords from discriminating against tenants who use federal housing vouchers.
A cyclist rides his bike while looking at the Louisville, Kentucky skyline on June 7, 2016 in Louisville. The amount of state funding poured into Kentucky’s largest city to support downtown revitalization, education, health care and other priorities is at a time when the urban-rural divide in the Bluegrass State is being debated. “It’s a sign that now it’s in the past,” Louisville’s mayor said Monday. April 29, 2024. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Perhaps the most explosive issue is still unresolved. Lawmakers agreed to create a task force to review the public school system across Louisville. The review could lead to efforts next year to break up Jefferson County Public Schools, the state’s largest school system.
Sen. Gerald Neal, the top Democrat in the state Senate, noted at an event Monday that there remain “some unanswered questions” regarding the Legislature’s relationship with Louisville. But Neal called the $100 million over two years for downtown Louisville a “home run” and praised his colleagues for approving the funding for his hometown.
Other projects receiving funding from Congress include improving Louisville’s airport, supporting community centers for teens and adults with disabilities, strengthening the Louisville Orchestra’s statewide presence, and Plans include support for the Kentucky Exposition Center, which holds trade shows throughout the year.
University of Louisville President Kim Schatzel said the session brought historic levels of funding to the school. She said the budget will support the development of a new health sciences building in downtown Louisville that will produce more medical professionals and advance cutting-edge research.
Schatzel said the state will also support the development of a university cybersecurity center that will put the city and state “on the map as a national leader in this emerging and critically important technology field.”
“The construction work and cranes on campus warm the president’s heart like nothing else, as they demonstrate confidence in a very bright future for the university and the communities we serve.” she said.
Lawmakers passed a major budget of more than $128 billion for the state executive branch over the next two fiscal years. It also approved tapping into the state’s large budget reserves to spend nearly $3 billion in one-time investments in infrastructure and community projects.
House Speaker David Osborn said the investment in Louisville is the result of disciplined budgeting since Republicans gained a House majority in 2017, strengthening Republican dominance in the Legislature.
In subsequent budget cycles, “this Legislature has spent less money than we’ve taken in,” the Republican chairman said. “It’s not easy.”
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Republican Senate President Robert Stivers said Louisville’s mission extends far beyond its boundaries in education, health care, transportation, tourism and the humanities. Stivers, who represents the Eastern District of Kentucky, said the state’s investment in Louisville is a matter of economics.
“We cannot turn a blind eye to 18 to 19 percent of the population and the income that goes into the national treasury,” he said.
