Louisville Fire defends proposed $87.7 million budget

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg has proposed spending more than $448 million on public safety in the city.

More than $87 million will go to Louisville Fire, while the firefighters union is still working to negotiate wage contracts with the city.

Chief Brian O'Neill sat before the Louisville Metropolitan Council on Wednesday to defend millions of dollars in the department's budget.

“Mayor Greenberg has been very upfront with us that he's here for public safety, he's talked about that, and this budget shows that,” O'Neill said.

The department was at the forefront of rescue efforts on the Second Street Bridge and what could have been a fatal fire at a NULU apartment complex. Something that members of the Metropolitan Council's budget committee recognize.

“This department has been an amazing example of public good and service,” said District 3’s Shameka Parrish-Wright.

Although the department has made national news in a few outliers, O'Neill said firefighters do heroic work every day.

“We've had a few that have really caught the public's attention recently, but our members do this kind of thing day in and day out. All the time. They're taking a huge risk, they're putting their health on the line,” he said. he declared. .

O'Neill answered questions from council members about where the nearly $88 million was going. More than $82 million of the budget is allocated for “personnel services,” meaning raises and overtime.

RELATED: Exclusive: Semi-trailer driver miraculously saved after Louisville bridge crash shares her story

Some council members addressed the elephant in the room: How this proposed budget will change if and when the Louisville firefighters union reaches an agreement with the city on contract negotiations.

“I just want to get a sense of the urgency of the administration to finalize this, instead of delaying it much longer,” asked Rep. Anthony Piagentini, R-District 19.

In May, the union voted against a five-year contract with the city that included a 24 percent wage increase.

“It's part of labor law, people have to agree, they have to meet, they have to negotiate, so I have no doubt that this will happen in a good amount of time,” the chief said O’Neill.

Metropolitan Government Chief Financial Officer Angela Dunn assured the council that salary negotiations were already taken into account in the mayor's proposed budget.

“We have factored into our salary adjustment account a forecast based on negotiations and that is in the budget before you,” Dunn said.

The proposed budget also allocates money for three new incident technicians, O'Neill said.

RELATED: Nearly 100 firefighters battle three-alarm apartment fire in Louisville; build a total loss

“This is a huge step forward in terms of the safety of our people on site,” he said. “When you have a big emergency, we need a dedicated accountability officer to know where everyone is and what they're doing. If you look at the reports of firefighter deaths, the lack of liability is one of the biggest contributing factors to that. So that gives us that on-site security officer.

Just before the budget hearing, a five-year contract for the Louisville Fire Department passed the Public Safety Committee. The contract includes raises and greater PTO flexibility for the department's management level.

“It obviously helps us retain employees when people are paid well for the work they do,” Chief O'Neill said.

The Louisville Fire Majors contract will now be on the consent calendar for submission to the full Metropolitan Council.

Make staying in the news easier with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple Or Android users.

Do you have a current tip? E-mail [email protected]visit our the Facebook page Or Twitter feed.