Seven Area Development Districts in Kentucky have filed a lawsuit against the Governor’s Office, including the local Pennyrile Area Development District.
The districts are suing for what they claim is an illegal withholding of funds, asserting that the Department of Local Government used more than $850,000 that had been approved by the Kentucky General Assembly to be used by the development districts to balance its budget.
PADD Executive Director Jason Vincent says the notification of the 28 percent reduction came at the end of their fiscal year, so those funds had already been allocated for community and economic development programs.
He says they were able to dip into their contingency fund to pay for the programs, but they cannot do that for long.
Vincent says all the area development districts want is to receive the funding they were under contract for so they can continue providing vital support to the Pennyrile region.
Development districts are regional groups that funnel state and federal money into a variety of programs aimed at improving public safety, workforce development, regional planning and care for the elderly.
PADD is joined in the suit by Lincoln Trail, Barren River, Bluegrass, Kentuckiana Regional Planning and Development, Northern Kentucky, and the Purchase Area Development Districts.