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Louisville metropolis leaders, like their compatriots throughout the nation, are going through twin crises: local weather change and the continued COVID-19 pandemic.
Sadly, the latter is hamstringing Louisville Metropolis Council’s skill to totally act to deal with the previous.
Metropolis officers and staffers gathered for a particular council assembly Tuesday night to debate the potential for brand new sustainability taxes to be put to native voters in November. The consensus from elected leaders was: As native residents and enterprise house owners climb out of the COVID-19 gap, now will not be the proper time for a brand new tax.
The dialogue arose out of a 2019 decision handed by the Metropolis Council that expressed the physique’s dedication to local weather motion and established carbon-reduction targets.
Metropolis workers then reached out to Xcel Power Inc. (NYSE: XEL) to debate collaboration choices.
“In 2020, town requested particulars from Xcel on what it could take to get the neighborhood to 100% renewable vitality from electrical energy by a Renewable Power Credit score (REC) Buy,” in line with a Louisville memo. “Xcel responded {that a} REC buy of $650,000 yearly would obtain that purpose. Nonetheless, Xcel wouldn’t decide to utilizing such funding for the creation of recent renewable vitality.”
A brand new tax, probably one added to month-to-month utility payments, can be another funding mechanism.
Mayor Ashley Stolzmann mentioned town needs to “take daring motion … however there’s some hesitancy from the council on the funding facet.”
Council members agreed that town must take a carbon-reduction management function, however mentioned asking voters to approve a brand new tax earlier than 2022 was unwise.
New tax proposals are probably “too excessive for our residents proper now, however I’m actually in favor of it sooner or later,” Councilwoman Deborah Fahey mentioned.
Along with extra time to get well from the pandemic, metropolis leaders requested workers for larger readability on what greenhouse gas-reduction initiatives could possibly be possible and the way a lot they’d price.
Stolzmann directed Louisville workers and members of town’s sustainability board to develop a menu of applications and corresponding price estimates, and discover the supply of quite a lot of completely different income streams to fund these initiatives.
© 2021 BizWest Media LLC
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