In fiscal years in which funds are available and funds have been appropriated to the council office budget for council members to support capital projects, the following policy shall be used to govern the expenditure of said funds.
1) Appropriation of funds:
In fiscal years in which funds are available, the council may appropriate funds to the council office budget for projects. Each council member shall be allotted one-fifteenth (1/15) of the total funds appropriated.
No council member running for election may make a project expenditure within thirty (30) days prior to any election; however, this provision shall not apply to council members who are unopposed.
In an election year, any council member leaving office, or facing opposition may only utilize up to fifty (50) percent of their overall budget, including funds for capital expenditure projects. The remaining fifty (50) percent will be replenished after the election for use by the successful candidate.
Once approved, all projects must be encumbered within twelve (12) months of receipt.
2) Definition of appropriate expenditures:
In order to qualify for project expenditure, funds used to support Urban County Government projects must be one-time expenditures (not recurring or ongoing expenses).
3) Definition of capital project:
A capital project is a long-term, capital-intensive investment to build upon, add to, or improve a capital asset. A capital asset is an item, object, thing, or real estate property owned by the City and includes, but is not limited to, City-owned buildings, parks and open spaces, vehicles, equipment, structures, or part thereof, events, services, programs, activities, and intellectual property.
4) Matching funds:
It is within the discretion of the council member making the project expenditure allocation to determine whether to require the entity receiving the allocation to provide matching dollars to support its capital project.
A council member soliciting project expenditures from other council members shall indicate whether a match will be required.
Project fund allocations specifying matching dollars may be made at a ratio stipulated by the council member initiating the request.
5) Allowable project expenditures:
The only allowable expenditures are for internal governmental projects. Funds from the council project expenditure account shall be allocated to a department or division of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government.
The process for appropriating funds to another department or division of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government is as follows:
a. A council member may receive a request from a department or division of the government for a project expenditure appropriation or a council member may, on their own, initiate a project expenditure allocation to a particular department of division.
b. At least eight (8) days prior to the work session in which the proposed project expenditure allocations are presented, the following information shall be provided to the council administrator:
i. Department or division receiving the allocation;
ii. Description of the project;
iii. Amount of funds to be allocated;
iv. Accounting string for transfer of funds;
v. Project commencement date;
vi. Project completion date.
c. The council administrator or their designee will be responsible for preparing a budget amendment to transfer the funds from the council office to the department or division.
d. The commissioner and/or division director of the department and/or division receiving the funds shall be responsible for ensuring that the project is completed on time and provide updates to council related to any timeline changes.
(Res. No. 599-2023, § 2, 11-2-23)