Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton outlined her priorities as Lexington’s new leader in her first address on the state of the merged government, delivered during a luncheon held at the Hyatt Regency on Tuesday.
In the speech, which Gorton dubbed the State of the City/State of the County Address to highlight the distinct priorities of the city’s urban, suburban and rural communities, Gorton mapped out the planned first steps of her administration in addressing the challenges of opioid addiction in the community and an increasingly tight budget for the next fiscal year.
Andrea James has been appointed as the city’s first dedicated staff member in LFUCG’s efforts to combat opioid addiction, Gorton noted, and a $2 million grant recently awarded to Lexington to address the growing opioid crisis will be applied in part to expand the use and availability of naloxone to reverse life-threatening overdoses in the community.
Gorton said the opioid crisis has become a life-or-death issue that affects community members from all demographic backgrounds. She added that it is detrimental to our local labor force while stealing the futures of too many Kentuckians.
“People are desperate for help and hope, and it is time we make this a community priority,” Gorton said. "We have no time to waste on this. We have to address it now."
The city will face a challenging year in terms of the city’s budget, with rising pension costs being among the most pressing concerns, Gorton said. She also identified opportunities in economic development that she wants to capitalize upon, including Lexington’s establishment as one of the country’s largest gigabit cities and the city’s plans to attract companies to acreage near Coldstream Research Campus made available through a planned land-swap with the University of Kentucky.
"Our current budget may be tight, but I’m very optimistic about the future of our economy,” Gorton said.
Gorton discussed the need to continue the city’s workforce development efforts at all levels of employment. She noted that 400 people have been trained so far through the city’s workforce grants, and she highlighted the city’s recent work with a partnership of Lexington’s larger employers to develop a new recruitment video for executive-level talent.
Gorton emphasized the importance of jobs growth, and singled out agriculture as a $2.3 billion industry that offers promise for significant expansion in Lexington, particularly in its high-tech applications. She also lauded Lexington’s status as one of the safest cities of its size in the nation, noting that 2018 marked the city’s lowest crime rate for the most serious offenses in six years. She took note of recent initiatives by the city’s police department, fire department and Fayette County Public Schools to increase health and safety in the community.
“While we can be happy that our overall numbers [of crime occurrence] are declining, we know there is more work to do,” Gorton said.
Gorton also provided updates on multiple new and ongoing projects for the coming year in a range of departments, including upcoming traffic and engineering initiatives, continuing improvements on the city’s stormwater and sewer systems, recent upgrades to the city’s LexCall system and new playgrounds and amenities planned by the city’s Parks and Recreation department.
She also added that she plans to appoint a citizen task force to inform any future decisions that may arise on possible expansion of the city's Urban Services Boundary.
"We must have a data-driven process that guides any future expansion so we don’t lose sight of the importance of infill," Gorton said.
After only 17 days on the job, Gorton said she is enjoying her new position.
‘We are just getting started, but I’ve already discovered I really like being mayor,” Gorton said. “There is something different happening every single day — sometimes every minute.”