LOUISVILLE, Ky. — An ordinance working through Metro Council is expected to get the green light this week and bring more equity to Louisville. The sponsor, District 3 Councilwoman Keisha Dorsey, calls it a roadmap from where we are to where we want to be.
"For so long, almost a year, we've heard the city say, not another task force, not another meeting. Not another team. Today in Louisville, and hopefully this Thursday, we'll see action in form of a change that will forever change the way this city does its budgeting," Dorsey said.
She spent months on a plan she calls an 'equity review for all city departments,' saying for too long, many of our black and immigrant neighbors who've helped build this city have endured 'decades of systematic racism' that have kept them from 'homeownership, job opportunities, quality education, and health care.'
The proposed ordinance would require every city department to address their racial disparities and how they plan to improve them. It passed committee with full support and Dorsey's confident it'll be backed by the mayor, who said this back in December:
"My team and I are committed to promoting racial equity, social justice through every policy that's drafted and approved at all levels of Metro Government," Mayor Greg Fischer said, during a virtual news conference on December 2.
If passed, each city department would give an equity impact statement when submitting their budgets for the coming year. They'd include their equity vision and goals and be measured by key performance indicators. This would include dozens of departments from our first responders and Metro Public Works to Waste Management.
"When we talk about our budget, it's most simply a reflection of our values. What I realized is that we were inferring that, but we were not articulating that pen to paper and that's simply what this does," Dorsey said. "This year, they'll just simply state what they are. Next year, they will have a dollar amount attached to them and that will add further granularity and clarification about how our dollars are being spent as we progress equity in the city."
Dorsey said goals could include the hiring of more minorities, creating diversity programs or raising wages.
If the department can't achieve its goals, Dorsey says that would give Metro Council and the public a platform to ask questions like why and how best to move forward.
The ordinance goes before the full Metro Council on Thursday, at which time Councilwoman Dorsey expects it to pass.
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