Council Committee to Review Urban Services Fund

Map of LFUCG controlled street lights in Lexington. Source: Environmental Quality and Public Works Committee

In Tuesday’s Environmental Quality and Public Works (EQPW) Committee, Commissioner of Finance Erin Hensley will give an overview of the Urban Services Fund.

The Urban Services Fund generates revenue from ad valorem property taxes that are meant to pay the cost of street lights, waste collection, and street cleaning. Lexington residents only pay taxes to fund the services they use — if they live in a neighborhood or tax district that has street lights and waste collection but does not receive street cleaning, then they only pay for those first two services.

For many years, tax collections for street lights and street sweeping have not generated enough revenue to pay fully for the operation costs. The past several budgets have had to allocate money from the General Fund — which is funded by payroll and net profit taxes paid by all Lexington residents, including those who do not use all of the Urban Services — in order to cover costs.

The Mayor’s Proposed Budget anticipates a cost deficit of roughly $290,000 for street light operation, and a $1.388 million deficit in street cleaning.

You can review the presentation starting on page four of this packet.

The Environmental Quality and Public Works Committee will meet on Tuesday, April 30th at 3pm in Council Chambers. You can attend in-person or watch live on LexTV.