Louisville Metro Council

Louisville Metro Council
Louisville Metro Council
Type
Type	Unicameral of Louisville/Jefferson County Metro, Kentucky
Term limits	None
History
Founded	January 1, 2003
Preceded by	Louisville Board of Alderman and Jefferson County Fiscal Court
New session started	January 3, 2023
Leadership
President	Markus Winkler (D) ; since January 3, 2023
Majority Caucus Leader/President Pro-Tempore	Paula McCraney (D) ; since January 3, 2023
Minority Caucus Leader	Anthony Piagentini (R) ; since January 3, 2023
Womans Caucus Leaders	Paula McCraney & Jennifer Chappell (D) ; since March 23, 2023
Structure
Seats	26 members
Political groups	Majority (17); Democratic (17); Minority (9); Republican (9);
Length of term	Four years
Elections
Voting system	First-past-the-post
Last election	November 8, 2022
Next election	November 12, 2024
Redistricting	2020
Meeting place
	Louisville City Hall
Website
	louisvilleky.gov/government/metro-council
Rules
	louisvilleky.gov/metro-council/document/mc-rules-02202023

The Louisville Metro Council is the city council of Louisville, Kentucky (Louisville Metro). It was formally established in January 2003 upon the merger of the former City of Louisville with Jefferson County and replaced the city's Board of Aldermen and the county's Fiscal Court (three county commissioners). Louisville City Hall houses the offices and chambers of the council.

The Metro Council consists of twenty-six seats corresponding to districts apportioned by population throughout Jefferson County. Although all cities in Jefferson County, apart from Louisville, retained their status after the merger, their residents are represented on Metro Council and vote alongside other county residents. The seats come up for reelection every four years, using a staggered process so that only half of the seats are up every two years.

Since the council's inception, Democrats have maintained a majority in the chamber, currently with seventeen members (65%). Democrats gained two seats in the 2010 election, gained another two seats in the 2018 midterms, and lost two seats in the 2022 election.

History

The first semblance of local government came shortly after the settlement began. This was originally considered part of Virginia. In 1779, pioneering founders elected five men as "trustees". In 1780 the town was formerly chartered and the Virginia legislature provided for local government by nine legislature-appointed trustees. When Kentucky became a state in 1792, the Kentucky legislature took over the appointments.

Trustees did not have to live in Louisville until a 1795 law change. In 1797 citizens were given home rule and the privilege of electing trustees. Most important decisions were made at the state level, and the trustees were administrators rather than legislators.

When Louisville was incorporated as Kentucky's first city in 1828, it gained greater autonomy. A ten-member "Common Council" was founded, to be headed by a mayor. In 1851 the city was given a new charter, keeping the Common Council as a "lower house" to the Board of Aldermen, an "upper house" of the city's legislative power. In 1929 the larger but less prestigious Common Council was eliminated. This legislative system continued until City-County Merger.

The 26-seat Louisville Metro Council was formally established in January 2003 upon the merger of the former City of Louisville with Jefferson County. It replaced both the city's Board of Aldermen and the county's Fiscal Court (three county commissioners).

Council President

The Louisville Metro Council President is the presiding officer of the Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Council. The President is elected annually by a majority vote of the entire council at the council's first meeting in January. Currently the President is Markus Winkler (D), who was elected unanimously on January 3, 2023.^[1]

Council Presidents

2023–present: Markus Winkler (D)
2018–2023: David James (D)
2016–2018: David Yates (D)
2015–2016: David W. Tandy (D)
2011–2015†: Jim King (D)
2010–2011: Tom Owen (D)
2009–2010: David W. Tandy (D)
2008–2009: Jim King (D)
2007–2008: Rick Blackwell (D)
2006–2007: Kevin Kramer (R)
2005–2006: Barbara Shanklin (D)
2004–2005: Kelly Downard (R)
2003–2004: Ron Weston (D)

†Died in office

Members

Ordinances

In 2006, the council passed two controversial ordinances: a smoking ban in October and the so-called "Dangerous dog" ordinance in December. In 2007, the council considered a ban on trans fats and non-biodegradable plastic bags.^[2]

One Touch Make Ready

On February 11, 2016, the City Council of Louisville, Kentucky voted 23–0 to adopt a One Touch Make-Ready ordinance, making it the first city in the country to adopt such legislation. According to city councilman Bill Hollander, who sponsored the legislation "This will help businesses locate here and grow here. It will create jobs, and will retain and attract our young people and make Louisville broadband ready." These sentiments were echoed by Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, who stated that it would help lay the groundwork for entities like Google Fiber, and said "Tonight's vote puts Louisville one step closer toward becoming a Google Fiber city."^[3] The legislation states that an applicant for attachment must first receive approval from the existing pole owners, at which point it may contract a pre-approved construction crew to perform all make ready work at its own expense. Pole owners and pre-existing providers whose wires were moved may choose to do post-make ready work inspections and call for remedial work if needed, at the new provider's expense.^[4] The ordinance's passing directly led to multiple lawsuits involving the city.^[5]

Breonna's Law

On June 10, 2020, the Metro Council unanimously approved ″Breonna's Law″ banning no-knock search warrants after the 26-year-old emergency room technician was killed by Louisville police on March 13, and the city erupted in violent protests on May 28.^[6] Police Chief Steve Conrad was fired on June 1 after the fatal shooting of black business owner David McAtee.^[7]

References

^ "Democratic Caucus elect leadership for 2023". Louisvilleky.gov. January 3, 2023. Archived from the original on April 18, 2023. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
^ "Most requested ordinances". louisvilleky.gov. Archived from the original on October 21, 2007. Retrieved September 9, 2007.
^ Bailey, Phillip (February 11, 2016). "Google Fiber Measure passed over objections". The Courier Journal. Archived from the original on January 31, 2024. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
^ "OTMR Fact Sheet". Next Century Cities. February 1, 2017. Archived from the original on August 19, 2017. Retrieved August 17, 2017.
^ Bailey, Phillip (February 26, 2016). "AT&T sues Louisville Metro over One Touch Fiber proposal". The Courier-Journal. Archived from the original on January 31, 2024. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
^ Johnson, Martin (June 11, 2020). "Louisville passes 'Breonna's Law' banning no-knock warrants". The Hill. Archived from the original on June 14, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
^ "Louisville police chief fired after fatal shooting of black business owner". CBS News. June 2, 2020. Archived from the original on June 4, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020.