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Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson has reviewed State Auditor Crit Luallen’s scathing report on extravagant spending in the Kentucky League of Cities.

The report also outlines a lack of oversight from the League’s Board of Directors. Abramson is on the board, and he says more oversight is indeed necessary.

“The members of the Kentucky League of Cities Board of Directors were really kept in the dark about a lot of issues,” he says. “We should have asked tougher questions, I guess, over the years. You put your trust in people to lead an organization and unfortunately that trust was misplaced.”

Abramson says he thinks the KLC provides a valuable service for small cities in Kentucky.

“I think if you would the 340-400 or so small city mayors throughout this commonwealth they would tell you that the League of Cities has done an outstanding job of helping them with legal questions and finance questions and things like that,” he says.

Abramson says the board’s next task is to find a replacement for outgoing director Sylvia Lovely.

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Louisville Metro Government has updated its website in accordance with an e-transparency ordinance passed in April.

The ordinance calls for spending records to be put online. As a result, the city’s website now features a searchable database of expenditures going back two fiscal years. Mayor Jerry Abramson says the city’s website previously offered some budget information, but the ordinance called for more data to be put online in a more organized manner.

“You can put in tires, you can put in radios, you can put in salt, you can do it that way,” he says. “You can put it in by department. You can cross-reference it. It now has all the purchasing opportunities. It tells you what we bought, how much we paid and who we bought it from.”

The site will be updated weekly with new information, though Abramson says some spending details will not be posted.

“Keep in mind that even a a family checkbook—or an individual’s checkbook—you don’t always write, where it says ‘for,’ all of the specific information and clearly setting forth all the extensive details of what the line item in that, or what that check, specifically was going to be used for,” he says.

The e-transparency ordinance was first sponsored by Republican council members but passed with bipartisan support. A spokesperson for the Republican Caucus says the sponsors are pleased with the new site, but look forward to reviewing it further.

You can see the data here.

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Louisville Metro Government will issue the first of three payments to hundreds of firefighters Tuesday. The $15.8 million check goes toward the $45 million settlement with the firefighters over miscalculated overtime.

“It breaks down, $14.3 million to the actual firefighters and $1.5 million in attorney’s fees,” says Mayor’s spokesperson Chris Poynter. “It’ll be up to the firefighters’ attorneys to handle distribution to the actual firefighters.”

The firefighters’ attorneys will take their fees out of the payment, then take out taxes and other deductions before sending money to individual firefighters. Union President Craig Willman says it will take several days for the first checks to arrive at firefighters’ homes.

The remaining two payments will be made next year, but the mayor’s administration and some Metro Council members are at odds over how to fund the settlement. The council members want to tap the city’s 65 million dollar rainy day fund, while Poynter says the administration would rather sell bonds for the project.

“The rainy day fund is…it’s our savings account,” he says. “It’s very important, especially in these tough economic times, to have that savings account there in case we need it. We’d rather not tap the rainy day fund, some council members want to, and we’re in discussions with them now.”

The council’s budget committee will review both options and make a decision next year.

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The 29th annual Light up Louisville event is Friday.

Mayor Jerry Abramson says a few changes have been made to this year’s Light Up Louisville. Most notably, the holiday parade will be held after sunset.

“We’re pushing it back to the evening, starting at 6:00,” he says. “So the parade will create a parade of lights with lighted floats and holiday characters and more. And then following the parade, as always, Santa Claus himself will arrive at 8:00 this year.”

Abramson says the later parade is likely to draw larger crowds than the previous years’ afternoon parades. The event will come after a 5K run, which is part of the Mayor’s Healthy Hometown program and a new addition to the Light up Louisville festivities.

Metro Government will provide some assistance for Light Up Louisville, but all other costs are paid for by sponsors.

“With the kind of financial situation we’re in, we are not [paying for events],” says Abramson. “We have some in kind support that we’re providing.”

The in kind support includes security officers, event organizers and electricians.

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Louisville has been awarded a 250 thousand dollar federal stimulus grant to help increase enrollment in the Kentucky Children’s Health Insurance Program.

The grant will go toward a new program called “Through Any Door.” When families apply for food stamps or other forms of assistance, the program will screen the applicants for KCHIP eligibility. Mayor Jerry Abramson says thousands of families do not know they qualify for KCHIP or how to enroll, and “Through Any Door” will find them.

“It’s an initiative that really will allow a variety of nonprofit organizations to provide information and begin the application process for families who have the right to have their children enrolled in the KCHIP program,” he says.

The program will help reach an enrollment goal set by Governor Steve Beshear. Last year he announced plans to enroll 35 thousand additional children in KCHIP by next summer. Beshear expects to meet the goal next month, but he says he won’t be complacent.

“We will continue that effort,” he says. “We will continue, folks, until we find every one of those children and get them enrolled in this program.”

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The Louisville Metro Council’s Accountability and Oversight Committee has begun discussing a proposal for mayoral term limits.

The resolution would ask the Kentucky General Assembly to change the state’s merger law to reduce maximum mayoral terms from three to two.

Ordinance sponsor Brent Ackerson says the legislation is not aimed at his fellow Democrat Jerry Abramson, who has declined to run for a third term as mayor of the merged government.

“This is not a partisan issue, this is not an indictment of anyone, this is an issue of philosophical examination of whether or not term limits in certain offices are applicable or should not be,” he says.

Instead of debating the issue in its meeting Wednesday, the committee instructed its caucus directors to research why the term limits are set at three and to look into a clearer order of succession and imposing term limits on council members.

Committee co-chair Kelly Downard says the debate will begin in earnest in two weeks.

“Next time we meet, we’ll introduce it and in the meantime I hope the caucus directors will have a list of some people who can maybe come before us and talk about the wisdom of why some of these things are there and also some of the ideas we’ll have come up with by that time,” says Downard.

The committee also passed an ordinance that would require certain contractors to disclose how city money is spent on some projects. It now goes to the full council.

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The filing period for Kentucky elections is underway today (Wed). That means anyone seeking the office of Louisville mayor can now officially file the paperwork to be on the ballot for next year’s primaries.

Prior to this week, candidates could file letters of intent, which allowed them to raise money for the race. Five Democrats and a left-leaning independent are vying to fill Mayor Jerry Abramson’s shoes, but only two Republicans have declared their candidacy.

WFPL’s Gabe Bullard has more on how GOP candidates might fare in the fight for an office that’s been dominated by Democrats.

It’s been 40 years since a Republican held the Louisville mayor’s office and there’s been only one mayor since the city and county governments merged in 2003—Democrat Jerry Abramson. He’s not seeking a third term in order to run for Lt. Governor in 2011.

And the two GOP candidates thus far hoping to fill the position are preparing their campaigns.

First, there’s developer Chris Thieneman.

“I’ve been thinking about this for years,” he says.

Thieneman gained notoriety leading the successful campaign against the library tax in 2007. He says that effort was conducted on a low budget, and he expects he can run a mayoral campaign with similar efficiency.

Last year, Thieneman declared his candidacy as a Republican in the primary for the Third District congressional seat held by Democrat John Yarmuth. He later dropped out and endorsed Yarmuth, then changed his mind again and sought the seat as a Republican. Thieneman says there won’t be any such about-face in the mayor’s race, but his willingness to distance himself from the GOP might be an asset.

“I’m not beholden to anyone, and that makes me an attractive candidate in the general election,” says Thieneman. “But I’m going to have a tougher time in the primary.”

“Chris and I are friends,” says Metro Councilman Hal Heiner.

Heiner is Thieneman’s opponent in the primary. He’s been raising money for the campaign longer than Thieneman and he has the support of many high profile Republicans in the area.

“I feel my seven years on the council is an advantage for a quick start,” he says.

Heiner and Thieneman both say they’re uncomfortable with, among other things, how the Abramson administration negotiates contracts and works with developers. They say Abramson hasn’t consulted with the council on development deals except to seek funding approval, though they acknowledge that he’s not required to, and they would take steps to limit executive power.

To further separate himself from Abramson, Heiner says, if elected, he will call for a full audit of the city to make otherwise closed records public.

“My goal in this run for government is to set a pattern and also laws in place, that for the next 50 or 100 years, we’ve set a culture in this government of openness, accountability and checks and balances that will last beyond whatever term I serve,” says Heiner.

But first Heiner has to get elected, which Republican mayoral hopefuls have struggled to do.

“A lot of it boils down to the economy,” says Filson Historical Society curator James Holmberg. “If people feel things are good for them and going in a good direction, they’re happy to stick with the party that’s in power.”

Holmberg says while the political makeup of city halls is often a reflection of the national and state political landscapes at a given time, a lot can happen in short order to sway local voters.

“Sometimes it was almost a reaction, like if there’d been a scandal, and people being people they tend then to want to go in the other direction,” he says. “Throw the bad guys out and go in a different direction.”

So Heiner and Theineman are positioning themselves as alternatives, hoping voter fatigue with Abramson and Democrats in general will win some converts. Mayor Abramson’s approval ratings have slipped in the last year, but they still hover above 50 percent.

Holmberg also points out that this is a historic election for merged government: subtracting Abramson’s popularity and adding the old county’s Republican-leaning history could level the field for the GOP.

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Louisville Metro Animal Services Director Gilles Meloche has announced his resignation amid accusations of mismanagement.

Accusations of botched treatment of animals, mishandling of documents and sexual harassment have led to calls for Meloche to step down. But Mayor Jerry Abramson says Meloche’s resignation was not forced.

“He called, came in to see me on Friday, we discussed his future,” says Abramson. “He talked to me about another community that he was in the running for. He talked to me about the potential of private practice. He thought, look, he has gone through a lot over the last months and year. Change agents go through a lot of difficulties.”

Abramson declined to say if he would have asked for the doctor’s resignation.

“We never got to that point,” he says. “He brought a letter in and submitted his resignation. The letter basically said he was afraid that with everything going on around him that the focus on animals and the services that are provided by Metro Animal Services were being injured by that process.”

Abramson says investigations into the allegations against Meloche will be conducted. Meloche joined MAS in 2005 and will step down on December 31st. Assistant Director Wayne Zelinsky will then become interim director.

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A final vote of approval from current and former Louisville firefighters on an overtime settlement is expected this week.

For years, the firefighters have been seeking an agreement over millions of dollars of miscalculated overtime work. Metro Government has tentatively reached a 45 million dollar deal with the firefighters, who have voted in favor of the agreement in meetings this month. The final vote from out-of-town retirees will come Wednesday, and will be sent to the mayor and Metro Council for final approval.

But a group of 42 firefighters is not included in the deal. Union President Craig Willman says their paperwork was not in order.

“They may have been 40-hour employees and just joined on to the lawsuit as a precautionary measure that they may get some moneys,” he says. “However, the members out of that group are going to have avenues to follow to be made whole.”

Those avenues include an amendment to the deal in the Metro Council or a separate settlement.

Another group of 135 firefighters is seeking a separate settlement over pension payments.

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Louisville Metro Government’s plan to revitalize the Park Hill industrial corridor has been made public.

The plan calls for the 14 hundred acre area southwest of downtown to be made more environmentally friendly through infrastructure improvements and incentives to attract green-collar jobs.

“Right now it’s really difficult to go through the corridor because a lot of streets are one way, they cut off an end, there are train tracks,” says Mayor’s spokesperson Chris Poynter. “So there are several plans to improve the transportation in the area. There are also plans to attract business and industry there by incentivising them.”

Friday the mayor’s office announced projects to improve roads, sewers and energy efficiency over several years. The plan costs about 2.5 million dollars. Poynter says additional investments will come from businesses that are attracted to the renovated corridor.

“Some of it will be paid by industries as they move in, but there’s a significant portion that the city’s going to have to invest over time if we really want to turn this corridor around,” he says. “Like I say, we’ve got infrastructure improvements, we’ve got to improve the streets, we’ve got to make it easy to get out of, go north, south, east and west.”

The city will hold a public meeting Monday to explain the details of the plan.

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