Council approves amended budget: Inner city cuts remain, more funding allocated to roads

The Hopkinsville City Council approved the second readings of the capital and operational budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year, with final amendments adding nearly $300,000 for roads and excluding funding from an inner-city program.

HOPKINSVILLE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – The Hopkinsville City Council approved the second reading of the capital and operational budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year, with final amendments excluding funding from an inner-city program, and nearly $300,000 added to the budget for roads.

The initial budget showed a projected expense for the Municipal Road Aid Fund at $925,309. The newly amended budget increased that expense to just over $1.2 million.

“We added more money to that fund so we could add more sidewalks in neighborhoods, and we can put more asphalt down,” Mayor J.R. Knight told Christian County Now, further explaining that the city would also use that funding to prioritize filling potholes.

Cuts to Legacy Program solidified

The Legacy Program, previously known as the Inner City REZ, aims to revitalize and rehabilitate targeted inner-city residential neighborhoods and the downtown business district. At the previous city council meeting during the first reading of the amended budget, multiple community members spoke up in support of continued funding for Legacy. As a result, a committee was formed to focus on how to spend the unused funds that the program has not allocated, totaling around $100,000

Councilmembers Vance Smith and Jason Bell both voted against the budget amendment for the first and second readings. They disclosed on Thursday that this was mainly due to the exclusion of the Legacy Program.

Despite the two votes against the operational budget, the majority vote prevailed 8-2 on the second reading. The capital budget also unanimously passed the second vote. Following the votes, Councilmember Clayton Sumner separately voiced that the Legacy committee should find a way to stretch their funding outside of the inner city, making it available to more residents.

“My decision on voting no for the budget was that we haven’t fully acknowledged the money that belongs to the Legacy Program,” said Smith. He added that the currently targeted neighborhoods are some of the oldest areas of the city that have also been historically underserved. “We don’t have a plan that’s out there, and until I see a plan, I won’t change.”

According to Knight, there are tentative plans to move large chunks of the existing funding from Legacy’s second story apartment development initiative to the rental rehab initiatives, as well as to the empowerment plans.

“If we’re not using it, let’s move it,” said Knight after the June 17 meeting. “The budget is sealed and done, but you’re going to see some amendments because we are still going to figure out how to get that inner city funding. I’m not going to leave the inner city out. This committee is going to help us look at it, know how we are going to do it and move forward.”