RESPONSE TEAMS PLAN TO GET AROUND DURING THE SUMMER SHUTDOWN. YOU STILL HAD TO CUT 1% OF YOUR BUDGET, WHICH RIGHT NOW YOU’RE AT A 6 MILLION BUDGET. SO $60,000. IS THERE SOMEWHERE THAT YOU COULD SAY RIGHT NOW THAT YOU COULD CUT? SORTING THROUGH THE MAYOR’S BILLION DOLLAR BUDGET PLAN? LOUISVILLE LEADERS ARE TAKING A CLOSE LOOK AT HOW THE CITY’S DOLLARS WILL BE SPENT. RIGHT NOW, THEY’RE MEETING WITH CITY DEPARTMENTS TO SEE HOW THEY PLAN TO USE THEIR PORTION. JAMIE MAYES LISTENED IN. TONIGHT, JAMIE MAYES COMMITTEE MEMBERS HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS BEFORE THEY TAKE A VOTE ON THIS BUDGET. VICKI. RICK, COMMITTEE MEMBERS ARE ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT EVERYTHING FROM STAFFING TO TECHNOLOGY. YOU’RE TRYING TO GET AN IDEA OF, IF ANY REALLOCATIONS SHOULD BE MADE OR CHANGES SHOULD BE MADE BEFORE THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR. METRO COUNCIL BUDGET COMMITTEE IS MEETING WITH THE DIRECTOR OF SOME MAJOR DEPARTMENTS, INCLUDING POLICE, FIRE AND ANIMAL SERVICES TO DISCUSS FINANCES. IT WOULD BE NICE TO KNOW HOW MUCH IT COSTS US TO TO TAKE CARE OF THESE ANIMALS AND DOES THE FEE STRUCTURE EVEN COME CLOSE? LAST MONTH, MAYOR CRAIG GREENBURG PRESENTED HIS PROPOSED BUDGET TO METRO COUNCIL. NOW THIS COMMITTEE IS GETTING A GENERAL OVERVIEW FROM CITY LEADERS ABOUT HOW THEY HAVE SPENT MONEY IN THE PAST AND WHAT THE MAYOR’S PROPOSED FUNDING WOULD GO TOWARD. A LOT OF DISCUSSION HAS FOCUSED ON STAFFING FOR EMS. THAT’S SOMETHING OFFICIALS SAY HAS LIKELY IMPROVED, WITH MORE FUNDING FOR WAGES BECAUSE OF UNDERFUNDING. YEAR. IN YEARS PAST, THE RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION PROBLEM THAT I’VE TALKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, IN THE LAST TEN YEARS HAS BEEN A PROBLEM. AND THE GOOD PROBLEM THAT WE HAVE NOW IS WE’VE GOT PEOPLE BEATING THE DOOR DOWN, WHETHER IT’S NEW RECRUITS OR LATERALS THAT ARE COMING FROM OTHER AGENCIES. BUT THERE’S ONE QUESTION WHICH HAS BEEN CONTINUOUSLY ASKED THESE DEPARTMENTS, WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF WE HAD TO CUT 1% FROM YOUR GENERAL FUND BUDGET? AND THE RESPONSE HAS VARIED. THAT WOULD REDUCE EITHER THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT WE USE FOR SUPPLEMENTAL PATROLS, INVESTIGATIVE TIME. OBVIOUSLY, THE OVERTIME BUDGET AS WELL, AS LONG AS IT DOES NOT AFFECT PERSONNEL. I’M OPEN TO ANYTHING. I THINK I WOULD PROBABLY LOOK MORE TOWARD INCREASING REVENUE. COUNCILMAN ANTHONY WEIJIA JIANG SAYS THE BUDGET IS VERY TIGHT, AND THE LONG TERM PROJECTIONS FOR FISCAL SUSTAINABILITY AREN’T CLEAR. SO HARD DECISIONS MAY NEED TO BE MADE TO FURTHER CUT OPERATING EXPENSES. THEY MAY MAKE CUTS THIS BUDGET CYCLE. BUT BECAUSE SOME DEPARTMENTS HAVE MORE FLEXIBILITY THAN OTHERS, THEY WOULDN’T BE MADE ACROSS THE BOARD. COUNCIL. NOW, TECHNOLOGY HAS ALSO BEEN A BIG TALKER AT THESE HEARINGS, WITH QUESTIONS BEING ASKED ABOUT HOW DEPARTMENTS ARE USING NEW TOOLS THE CITY IS SPENDING MONEY ON. THERE’S ALSO BEEN TALKS ABOUT OVERTIME AND FOR METRO ANIMAL SERVICES. THE COS