Louisville plan proposes $144.5 million in capital spending alongside $291.8 million in unfunded projects

Louisville is weighing a proposed 2027-32 capital plan totaling $144.5 million, alongside a separate city inventory of nearly $291.8 million in unfunded projects.

The figures are in materials prepared for the city’s July 22 budget retreat, which is scheduled to be informational, not a vote. The meeting packet lists a recommended-budget presentation Sept. 1, a final presentation Oct. 20 and budget and capital-improvement-plan adoption Nov. 2. Those are scheduled milestones, not completed decisions.

Proposed capital plan

The proposed funded CIP totals $144,516,292 over six years, according to the capital-project summary and project forms. Planned annual spending is $27.5 million in 2027, $37 million in 2028, $25.3 million in 2029, $21.1 million in 2030, $15.2 million in 2031 and $18.5 million in 2032.

The largest fund-level allocations are $66.76 million in the Capital Projects Fund and $52.65 million in the Water Utility Fund. Major proposed work includes:

• $34.67 million for annual roadway resurfacing.
• Water projects including a $7.77 million waterline replacement program, an $8.64 million NCWCD-Windy Gap firming project, a $6.05 million Raw Water Integration Project and a $10 million South County Water Treatment Plant residual-management project.
• $8.72 million in wastewater capital and $5.85 million in stormwater work.
• Parks and recreation projects totaling $4.37 million for recreation, $2.04 million for open space and $1.15 million from the Conservation Trust Lottery Fund. A $1.875 million playground and park-improvements program would replace one or two playgrounds annually through 2032.
• Smaller transportation and technology projects, including $802,000 for the Dillon Road sidewalk project, $500,000 for community trail connections, $630,000 for middle-mile fiber and $997,660 for citywide electric-vehicle charging.

The documents describe these as proposed capital requests and planning figures; they do not show that the council has approved or financed the plan.

Unfunded projects

The separate unfunded-project inventory totals $291,827,816. About $268.1 million, or nearly 92%, is assigned to the Capital Projects Fund. The list also includes $20.5 million for the Golf Course Fund, $3.09 million for the Storm Water Utility Fund, $125,000 for the Water Utility Fund and $50,000 for the Recreation Fund.

The largest listed needs are a $140.8 million citywide underpass project, $46.2 million in CO 42 corridor enhancements and $23.25 million for City Services 2. Other items include $15.52 million for recreation-center decarbonization, $5.83 million for city-services decarbonization and solar, $5.84 million for Downtown Front & Center Phase II, and $3.09 million for stormwater detention-pond maintenance.

The inventory also lists $2.35 million for police and court decarbonization, $2.29 million for library decarbonization, $1.47 million for City Hall decarbonization, $1.52 million for South Boulder Road sidewalk widening and $1.05 million for a multipurpose field. The city labels the projects “unfunded”; the materials do not establish that they have been formally deferred, scheduled or rejected.

Some project-detail sheets contain duplicated tables and conflicting figures, including different amounts for golf clubhouse work. The inventory is therefore best treated as a high-level needs list rather than a construction schedule.

Funding options

The budget-retreat presentation says initial capital requests exceeded $400 million across more than 200 projects. Staff’s presentation says the city will prioritize existing assets, critical infrastructure, core functions and information technology while refining the CIP with council. It does not identify a published scoring system for ranking every project.

Staff says major utility projects may require borrowing, particularly for water, solid-residuals and an administrative building. Utility capital investments are preliminarily estimated at about $67.2 million over 2027-32. The materials do not identify a specific utility-rate increase to address the unfunded list.

Other options are fund-specific, including extending or increasing a Conservation Trust Fund transfer to Parks, revisiting the Open Space acquisition reserve, and using golf-fee changes or capital deferrals to move the Golf Fund toward operational and capital self-sufficiency. Staff also recommends ending a temporary Recreation Center debt mill-levy credit in 2027, which would raise the city levy from 1.375 to 1.70 mills and add an estimated $20 annually for a median home.

A project detail sheet anticipates $273,000 in grants for police and court decarbonization, but the record does not describe a broader grant program capable of closing the gap. A proposed extension of the city’s 0.125-cent Historic Preservation Fund tax through 2038 is another scheduled policy question; the current tax expires Dec. 31, 2028, and an extension would require ballot action.

Council guidance and the fall budget process will determine which projects remain in the funded six-year program, which stay on the unfunded list and whether borrowing, fees, taxes or future budget cycles change the balance.