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SourcesBudget PDF· 2h|Legistar· 18m|Open Data· 47m|KPPA Pension· 4d|EMMA Bonds· 1dBuildsha256:dev·Next ingest: 23m
/ lfucg · fy2026

Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government

Fiscal year
FY2026 · Jul 1, 2025 — Jun 30, 2026
FY2026 Total Budget (All Funds)Adopted · Jun 2025
$0
▲ +5.8% vs FY2025General Fund: $531.8MPer capita: $2,527[budget-fy26-adopted.pdf, p. 14]
10-yr trend · CAGR +4.2%
last refresh 2h ago
Personnel % of budget64%
▲ +1.2pp10-yr high
CERS-NH funded ratio61.4%
▲ +9.6pp 4ytgt 100% by 2049
Days since refresh2
all sourcesnightly
Settlements paid since 2018$8.4M
▲ +$1.2M YTDTrapp case
FOIA requests open3
avg 9dlongest: 23d
% budget categorized94%
▲ +6pp$48.4M uncategorized
Anomalies this week5
▲ +24 awaiting review

Spending by Department · FY2026 Adopted

all funds · $810.6M total · source: budget-fy26-adopted.pdf
PUBLIC SAFETY
$401.0M49.5%
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY & PUBLIC WORKS
$179.6M22.2%
GENERAL SERVICES
$71.8M8.9%
CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER (CAO)
$58.6M7.2%
LAW
$20.2M2.5%
OFFICE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
$18.3M2.3%
HOUSING ADVOCACY & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
$16.1M2.0%
FINANCE
$14.9M1.8%
SOCIAL SERVICES
$14.1M1.7%
live from /api/v1/budget/overviewview methodology →

Recent Anomaly Flags

flagged · awaiting human review
schools_clean_audit_cash_burn· general · fy2024
Fayette County Public Schools FY2024: cash balance dropped $90,000,000 (15% of general-fund revenue) while audit was 'unqualified (clean)' Fayette County Public Schools's end-of-year cash balance fell from $235,000,000 to $145,000,000 in FY2024 — a drop of $90,000,000, or 15% of that year's general-fund revenue. The audit firm issued an unqualified ('clean') opinion in the same year. Clean audits and severe liquidity stress can coexist: the audit attests to fair presentation under GAAP, not to operating sustainability. When the two diverge by this much, the next fiscal cycle commonly surfaces the strain. Source: KDE district financial reports. Tier 2: aggregate fiscal observation, no individual characterization.
conf 0.90[evidence]
schools_kora_compliance_streak· general · fy2026
Fayette County Public Schools: 5 open-records violations in last 24 months (total 7 since 2019) Kentucky Attorney General decisions have found Fayette County Public Schools in violation of the Open Records Act or Open Meetings Act 5 times in the trailing 24 months — a structural pattern, not a one-off. Decision IDs in this window: 26-OMD-009, 25-ORD-003, 25-ORD-037, OAG 25-07, 24-ORD-163, 23-ORD-093. Citizens and journalists who file requests with this district experience the compliance pattern as denials, delays, and the need to appeal to the AG. The dashboard tracks this rolling-window count so a re-occurrence of the pattern is surfaced automatically. Source: ag.ky.gov OROM index. Tier 2: aggregate institutional observation, no individual characterization.
conf 0.95[evidence]
opeb_discount_rate_sensitivity· general · fy2024
OPEB net position would swing up to $17,386,782 under a 1% discount-rate move (FY2024) LFUCG's net retiree-health-benefit (OPEB) position is currently a $2,713,959 surplus at the FY2024 discount rate (5.99% non-hazardous, 6.02% hazardous). A 1-percentage-point decrease in the rate would shift the position by $14,765,912; a 1-point increase would shift it by $17,386,782 in the opposite direction. Source: ACFR pp.113–114 (GASB-75 OPEB sensitivity tables). Tier 2: aggregate actuarial observation.
conf 0.85[evidence]
pension_contribution_volatility· general · fy2025
CERS contribution rate decreased 3.12 percentage points FY2024→FY2025 (23.57% → 20.45% of payroll) LFUCG's payment to the County Employees' Retirement System (CERS) for FY2025 was 20.45% of covered payroll ($28,197,560 on $137,894,274), compared to 23.57% the prior year — a 3.12-percentage-point decrease. Pension contribution rates are set by the Kentucky General Assembly via KRS §78.635 and applied to whatever payroll the city actually runs; sharp year-over-year shifts in the *effective* rate typically reflect either a Frankfort phase-in completing, a one-time refund of an overpayment, or a rapid change in headcount/wages that dilutes or concentrates the fixed actuarial obligation. Source: ACFR RSI Schedule of Government Contributions. Tier 2: aggregate fiscal observation, no individual characterization.
conf 0.90[evidence]
pension_contribution_volatility· general · fy2023
CERS contribution rate increased 2.38 percentage points FY2022→FY2023 (21.84% → 24.22% of payroll) LFUCG's payment to the County Employees' Retirement System (CERS) for FY2023 was 24.22% of covered payroll ($28,138,782 on $116,194,096), compared to 21.84% the prior year — a 2.38-percentage-point increase. Pension contribution rates are set by the Kentucky General Assembly via KRS §78.635 and applied to whatever payroll the city actually runs; sharp year-over-year shifts in the *effective* rate typically reflect either a Frankfort phase-in completing, a one-time refund of an overpayment, or a rapid change in headcount/wages that dilutes or concentrates the fixed actuarial obligation. Source: ACFR RSI Schedule of Government Contributions. Tier 2: aggregate fiscal observation, no individual characterization.
conf 0.90[evidence]

Recent Reports

Mar 4, 2026·8 min read
The Slow Squeeze: Why Personnel Hit 64% of Budget
Wage growth now drives 72% of payroll-tax gains while employment growth has slowed below 1%. We trace the convergence over 10 fiscal years and what it implies for FY2027.
Tier 2 reviewed·sonnet-4·14 sources cited
Feb 26, 2026·5 min read
CERS Funded Ratios Are Recovering. The PFRF Still Isn't.
CERS Non-Hazardous moved from 51.8% (2021) to 61.4% (2025). The Policemen's & Firefighters' Retirement Fund continues to carry a 0.8 actives-per-retiree ratio against a 1.2 national benchmark.
Tier 2 reviewed·sonnet-4·9 sources cited
Feb 19, 2026·6 min read
FY2026 Is the First Post-ARPA Budget. Here's What Moved.
$121.2M in ARPA funds is exhausted. FY2025 absorbed ~$50M in previously grant-funded costs. We track which line items shifted and where the gaps remain.
Tier 3 reviewed·sonnet-4·21 sources cited
sample reports shown · awaiting first published report from agent