Mayor Greenberg's budget proposal would defund Louisville area conservation district

The Jefferson County Soil and Water Conservation District would close under Mayor Craig Greenberg’s proposed budget cuts, according to the district’s board — threatening local environmental programs and potentially jeopardizing additional state and federal funding for agriculture and conservation.

The cut — from $113,200 received in previous years to $30,000 in the upcoming budget — “makes it impossible to keep our office open,” said district supervisor Sarah Beth Sammons.

She said many of the district’s services and public offerings, like free soil testing for residents, would dissolve without the funding.

The district is a government entity, established through state law with board members chosen in local elections and a history dating back to the Dust Bowl. The Jefferson County Soil and Water Conservation District was established in 1944.

Without adequate funding from Louisville Metro Government, Jefferson County would be the only county in Kentucky without a soil and water conservation district, Sammons said.

The district delivered a formal response to the mayor’s office on Monday morning, describing “far-reaching consequences for our community” should the district be defunded, and calling for “a specific list of objections and suggested corrections” to the requested funding.

"I think they, like many other organizations that have been historically, primarily funded through Metro government, are important organizations that do important work for our community," Greenberg said in an interview with The Courier Journal on his budget proposal.

"The question that I had to ask is, 'Should the government be the primary funder of this initiative, given our priorities, given the other programs that our government already does, and given the limited resources that we have?'"

Local conservation efforts in jeopardy

The soil and water conservation district follows a "mission to conserve the county's soil, water, air, plants, and wildlife," with projects targeting erosion and runoff, and workshops and outreach supporting sustainable agriculture and native plants.

Since 2023, it has provided hundreds of tree seedlings to local schools, cover crop seeds to more than two dozen farms and hundreds of vouchers to county residents to test soil for lead and other contaminants.

The district’s coordination with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service has also brought federal funding to the county for brush management, pollinator planting and more, according to the district’s latest annual plan and budget submitted to the city.

In other counties, soil and water conservation districts typically receive funding from the county government and millage taxes on real property. But in Jefferson County, the district relies solely on local government funding, according to Sammons, in addition to any outside grants or donations.

In his initial budget proposal announcement, Greenberg said he went through “line by line,” and found some items "that might have been necessary once but need to be rethought."

In that address, the mayor emphasized investments in affordable housing, raises for city workers, a larger police budget and a variety of street and “quality of life” improvements.

The full budget proposal also includes greater funding for other environment-oriented agencies, including the Office of Sustainability and the Air Pollution Control District, with the support of federal grants.

"This year's budget process has been a bit of a 're-set,'" said Deputy Mayor Dana Mayton in an email sent to the district Friday. "As a part of that review, and to enable investment in our own workforce and service delivery, it was determined that a number of proposed city appropriations would be reduced this year."

According to Sammons, Mayton told the district she welcomes their response, and asked the district to document any "potential impact of the budget reduction."

State law governing soil and water conservation districts also requires the local fiscal court — typically the county government — to provide reasoning in writing to the board if the budget request is unfulfilled.

In the case of Louisville’s merged government, it’s unclear whether Metro bears the same responsibility to justify the budget cut. The mayor’s office did not immediately respond to a question about this rule.

What’s next for Louisville's budget?

The mayor’s proposed budget is now in the hands of the Louisville Metro Council, which will review it over the coming weeks and vote June 20.

Councilman Kevin Kramer, the vice chair of the budget committee, said Greenberg sought out council input while creating the proposed budget.

Council members still have the freedom to make changes to the budget, as long as it remains balanced.

However, about two-thirds of the budget is “personnel costs” that are “fixed,” said majority caucus communications director Kyle Ethridge.

This leaves one-third of the budget for Metro Council to shift around.

“I urge you to reconsider the proposed budget cut,” the district board wrote in its formal response letter to the city. “Investing in conservation is an investment in our future, and it is essential that we prioritize the protection of our natural resources for generations to come.”

Reach environmental reporter and Report for America corps member Connor Giffin at cgiffin@gannett.com or on X @byconnorgiffin. Reach reporter Eleanor McCrary at EMcCrary@courier-journal.com or on X @ellie_mccrary.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Greenberg budget would defund Louisville area conservation district