Last month, we took you through a summary of Mayor Craig Greenberg's proposed $1.1 billion budget for the upcoming 2026-2027 fiscal year. In the interest of budgeting your time, we decided to break down the entire approval process for you.

Department hearings

Between the proposal in late April and the vote in late June, the Louisville Metro Council reviews the proposal and holds a series of hearings with individual department directors. There are more than 50 departments in the Louisville government — so that takes a while.

During these hearings, council members ask the directors about their agency's current projects and upcoming needs. You can view previous and upcoming budget hearings online.

Public comments

In addition to interviewing department directors, Metro Council invites the public to comment on the budget proposal. On Thursday, May 23 the council hosted a Community Budget Hearing, where ~60 Louisvillians gave their input on the proposed budget. In case you missed it, you can view a recording of the meeting online.

Budget hearings will continue until later June, but the public comment period is ending sooner. You can submit online comments until Friday, June 5.