LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) -- A packed house at Metro Hall for the Metro Council's vote on the upcoming budget emptied shortly after the council voted 25-1 to pass the amended budget for the next fiscal year, with many upset and frustrated with the decision, even though many admit they were not surprised by the outcome.
"We like to call ourselves a compassionate city and unfortunately we haven't really lived up to it at this point," Chris Finzer, the co-chair of CLOUT's Mental Health and Addition Issue Committee, said.
"It wasn't a compassionate move at all," Gracie Lewis with Kentucky Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression said. "There was no doubt about that."
The budget, which needed to find $25 million in savings to address the pension issue in the state of Kentucky, left many services seeing reduced funding and cut out funding for other programs altogether, frustrating many who believe this could have been prevented earlier.
"The reality was several months back, there were options for tax incentives, tax cuts or increases in some levels that would have staved this off," Ron Richmond with AFSCME Council 962 said.
A large group of pepole wearing green shirts representing AFSCME Council 962 were there to protest against the decision to cut Youth Detention Services. The council's amended budget calls for the state to takeover the operations of the program, which would likely mean moving the service out of Jefferson County.
"Some of these kids may never see their parents again. I hate to think that way. It's devastating," Richmond said. "That's the first thing they're going to lose in a lot of these cases is that family that doesn't have a car that has always come and visited their children religiously through the TARC system or get a cab or get a friend to drive them here."
The budget also eliminates funding for The Living Room, which means the program that helps an average of 400 people in crisis each month will be shutting its doors for the next fiscal year.
"It's not sure what will happen to them really," Finzer said. "Some will be arrested and go into the criminal justice system, I'm sure. Others, I don't know. I'm afraid some of these individuals will just give up and end their lives."
Several others protested the cuts to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which is reduced from $10 million to $5 million.
"I think the budget itself was totally heartless," Lewis said.
Several people protesting the council's vote said that they will be joining in the discussions for the following fiscal year as soon as they begin in order to plead their case for funding to be restored. Councilman Bill Hollander has asked that discussions begin as early as possible, which mean they could start up in August.
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