Lexington, KY - The warm weather is behind us and the holidays are around the corner. Lexington's Urban County Council has been busy on a range of important issues, and LFUCG is gearing up for its fall leaf collection program to help folks prepare for winter.
The council has finally completed its redistricting process, which happens every 10 years after the U.S. Census has been published. This year, a group of community volunteers appointed by council members examined the populations of each of the council districts, and proposed border adjustments so that each council district would have roughly the same number of people. After many meetings, some political wrangling and one or two adjustments by council, the Redistricting Committee's proposed boundary changes have now been adopted by the Urban County Council. While I am disappointed to lose parts of Garden Springs, and all of the Lafayette and Picadome neighborhoods, I am happy to welcome folks from Rabbit Run, Clemens Heights, Indian Hills and Plantation to the 10th District.
I was recently appointed by Mayor Gray to serve on a task force to examine severe financial challenges posed by the Lexington Police & Fire Pension Fund. Lexington's $537 million liability for pension and retiree medical benefits, which has been growing by about $55 million per year, is one of the most serious financial challenges to face LFUCG in generations. Returning the Police & Fire Pension Fund to a sustainable path is important both to the quality of life of our public safety retirees, but it also is critical to the very financial solvency of Lexington's city government. The new task force, chaired by former Herald-Leader publisher Tim Kelly, includes police and fire leadership, elected officials, union representatives, financial professionals, lawyers, and government representatives. These problems are complex and will be difficult to solve, but I appreciate the willingness of the administration and these government and community leaders to commit their time and expertise to addressing these serious financial challenges.
As has been covered in the local media, Mayor Gray recently proposed dramatic increases in health insurance premiums for LFUCG employees, including a $600 per month increase for the family plan used by most employees. For years, health insurance premiums from LFUCG and its employees have not covered our actual healthcare costs, which are self-funded. Currently, LFUCG will face an estimated $14 million end-of-year shortfall once the city and employees pay their share of the health insurance premiums. While the mayor's proposal was to shift the entire $14 million shortfall to employees, the council has discussed contributing an additional $1.9 million toward this shortfall to preserve some affordability for employees. It is an economic reality that some of our employees who work for low to moderate wages cannot afford to pay an additional $600 per month for family health insurance. I look forward to working with the administration, council members and LFUCG employees to reign in our healthcare costs while also providing moderate and reasonably affordable healthcare coverage for our employees.
With many leaves already on the ground and more falling every day, Lexington is gearing up for its fall leaf collection program. Beginning on Nov. 28 and continuing through Dec. 22, leaf collection will be available to residents in the urban services area who already receive city trash pickup. This year Lexington will only provide one vacuum pickup in each neighborhood, although residents may still dispose of leaves in their yard waste containers. Please visit www.lexingtonky.gov/leaves or call LexCall at (859) 425-2285 for details.