LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg unveiled his city budget proposal last Friday. The total price tag is the same at $1.1 billion. The proposed funding for Louisville Metro Police is $242.2 million, which is an increase from the $222 million the council approved in fiscal year 2024.
One thing several nonprofits were hoping to see increase was "external agency funding" (EAP), that's the section that deals with nonprofit funding.
"We've been taught resilience; and we've always been taught how to do more with less," Stachelle Bussey, founder and CEO of the Hope Bus and Hope Village, said.
Hope Village is a 50-person transitional housing community for people experiencing homelessness near the intersection of South Brook and East College Streets. The idea for it started in 2020, when activists said they needed a safe place to gather and for some people to sleep. Many houseless residents said it's one of the best efforts in Louisville.
"I've been homeless since I've been 19 and this right here kind of connected me and opened me up to new opportunities I didn't think I could have," Justin Rudder said. He's been staying there since December.
Rudder got a job at Goodwill Industries through Hope Village and said it's the best thing that's happened to him in this part of his life.
"I'm just grateful to be able to experience this moment with them," he said.
Hope Village got $300,000 in the FY 2024 budget, but Bussey said they never accessed it, because they were told they had to use all their American Rescue Act funding first. City officials could not confirm or deny that Friday.
In Greenberg's proposed budget released last week, Hope Village would get $150,000.
"We've always done more with less, and we're gonna keep doing more with less," Bussey said. "There's never been enough money, but it's never been about that."
The Center for Neighborhoods stands to get its city funding cut from $50,000 to $0 if the mayor's proposal comes true. The organization does trainings for people who want to be leaders in their neighborhoods. Executive Director Mikal Forbush said they help people understand how to access city resources and communicate with city departments.
"Our structure is really about giving people tools to create change," Forbush said.
The center had major budget cuts in January, too. Forbush said this was caused by the city lagging on some of their reimbursements. Because of this, he said they have already stopped programming.
"We were able to sit down and think about this situation, but I know a lot of other organizations, this really caught them off guard," Forbush said.
Russell: A Place of Promise, a nonprofit in West Louisville, is proposed to lose $100,000.
So, what would get more funding? House of Ruth would get $832,000 for hotel vouchers for HIV+ people experiencing homelessness. This comes from the federal HOPWA program.
Feed Louisville, which prepares meals for houseless people, would get $16,100. Feed Louisville got more than this in FY 2024, but it was from HOPWA and not for food service. Feed Louisville no longer offers housing.
St. Vincent de Paul, a homeless shelter, is proposed to get $45,000 more than last year.
During his budget address last Friday, Mayor Greenberg said external agency funding was actually increasing under his proposal.
"And so this year, we're taking a major step in that direction. I'm proposing to increase funding to EAFs by 25%," Greenberg said.
EAF funding from three large city departments is increasing from $600,000 to $750,000, but according to the "total EAF funding" figures at the bottom of each budget, the total is actually going down. This could be caused by less money from federal sources or other grants.
The "FY24 Approved Executive Budget Book of EAF" on the city's website lists a total amount of $9.98 million. The total EAF funding in the proposed FY 25 budget is $9.27 million.
"I took a new approach to crafting the city’s budget so we can make investments to achieve meaningful progress on our priorities of public safety, homelessness, education, new, quality homes and more," Greenberg said in his budget address. "I am committed to looking at our budget with fresh eyes and new perspectives each year and listening to our community about what is needed to achieve these goals for Louisville."
Greenberg also announced $32 million total for affordable housing. The largest sum is $15 million to the Louisville Affordable Housing Trust Fund. The fund has a board that votes on how to spend it; it often goes to developers who are building projects with affordable units.
While it is a shakeup for some organizations, Forbush is trying to think how he can help in the community, regardless if he's still an executive director.
"Hopefully people will be able to get a hold of this budget to look at what it really does and think about what it reflects, and how we can come together and have a unified voice," Forbush said.
The Metro Council will vote on the full budget on June 20.
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