LEXINGTON, Ky. — Mayor Linda Gorton unveiled a $546 million General Fund budget Tuesday that she says holds the line on taxes and spending while pumping $5.1 million into a top-to-bottom overhaul of the city’s storm-response operations — an acknowledgment that last winter’s ice debacles demanded more than a new snow plan.
The proposal, presented to the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council during a work session at 200 East Main Street, is the largest spending plan in the city’s history while carrying what Gorton called its most restrained borrowing in five years. The full budget, including dedicated fee funds for services like garbage collection and sewer operations, totals $847 million.
“This year, our budget is challenging,” Gorton told councilmembers. “The same is true for the budgets of many households, our state, and our nation.” Despite roughly 4 percent revenue growth, she said, expenses have climbed in tandem — utility costs alone are expected to rise more than $2 million this year. Her response was a plan she described as “balanced, right-sized” with no tax increases.
Winter Weather: The Defining Issue
The storm-response piece carries the most political weight. Gorton fired her public works commissioner in March after Lexington recorded more than 150 crashes during a single winter storm and faced a public backlash over impassable roads. A formal after-action review later identified six operational failures, including an inability to distinguish between snow and ice conditions, staffing shortages, equipment breakdowns, and the absence of a clear chain of command…