LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The year began with Mayor Greg Fischer's inauguration, and looking back, he said he is excited about the momentum throughout the city at the beginning of his third term in office.
"We're identified around the country right now as one of these great medium-sized cities, a breakout city," he said. "It's because of all the work that's been done by the citizens of Louisville and all the investments that have taken place here.
Fischer has boasted about the economic development and the attraction of business to Louisville. According to Fischer, Louisville has added 83,000 new jobs and 3,000 new businesses since 2011 and has attracted more than $14 billion in investment since 2014.
But despite all the positives, Fischer also recognizes 2019 was a tough year for many people thanks to the city's budget issues, which has plagued cities around the state of Kentucky. Fischer and Louisville Metro Council passed a budget that made around $25 million in cuts in response to increased pension requirements from the Kentucky Retirement System.
"Our citizens have been living with the consequences of that in terms of reduced number of police officers, less firefighter capability and ambulances, closed our libraries, pools, all these different things," he said. "Nobody enjoyed any of that."
The pension problem isn't going away soon. Louisville is expected to see their pension payments increase every year for the next few years. Fischer said he is looking at how the cuts have affected citizens this year and exploring possible changes that will help balance the budget while minimizing harm.
"For cities like Louisville, there are some easy things that can be done," he said. "There's a restaurant tax that many cities already have the opportunity to levy throughout Kentucky. Louisville does not. But our ability to do that would take care of the bulk of the pension problem that we have."
According to Fischer, around 25 percent of restaurant clientele in Louisville are visitors from out of town, and with the tourism industry continuing to grow, he believes a restaurant tax could help bring more revenue that will help Louisville.
A restaurant tax would have to be approved by the state legislature and then by the governor before being voted on by Metro Council. Fischer said this is just one of several options that are on the table right now.
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