Politics

Louisville Metro Government Public Works Director Ted Pullen has resigned.

Mayor Greg Fischer's office has confirmed that Pullen turned in his letter of resignation at 4:30 p.m. Friday, saying he wanted to pursue other opportunities.

Fischer spokesman Chris Poynter says the search for a new director will begin immediately.

In June, WFPL requested documents from Metro Government, including "complaints filed against Louisville Metro Public Works Director Ted Pullen by Metro employees in the department since February 1, 2012." In response, we were told a complaint was pending and could not be released.

When asked later that week about any complaints against Pullen and whether his office asked Pullen to resign, Fischer told WFPL he had not asked Pullen to resign at that time. When asked whether there was an investigation into any complaints against Pullen, Fischer replied "We have personnel issues all the time and obviously we don't discuss those."

Kentucky lawmakers will be briefed next week on the state’s ailing coal severance tax fund.

The office of the state budget director will update the lawmakers of the fund’s future on Wednesday, during a regularly scheduled meeting of the interim committee on natural resources and environment.

The coal severance fund is made up of a tax collected on each ton of coal mined in Kentucky. But the coal industry has had a rough year, and officials are forecasting problems maintaining previous levels of revenue.

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer entered the education debate and publicly endorsed former Humana Inc. Chairman David Jones Jr. for Jefferson County school board on Thursday.

The businessman is running for the District 2 seat, which covers the Highlands and Crescent Hill neighborhoods. He is facing Elizabeth Berfield, Phil Haming and George Tolhurst. 

During a panel discussion at the Leadership Louisville Luncheon, Fischer said there are gaps in public education that need to be addressed, and that residents should follow Jones’s lead and take those challenges on.

"Our goal is to be the best large public school district in the country, period," he says. "And you’re seeing that with this school board race that we have right now. Unprecedented amount of people are running. You’re seeing a great community leader like David Jones step up to say, ‘I want to make a difference in this as well.'"

Speaking at the Leadership Louisville Luncheon along with Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson on Thursday, Mayor Greg Fischer announced a plan to create a 25-year vision for the city. And the two local leaders also had a friendly joust over keeping and obtaining an NBA team for their respective cities

Vision Louisville will be a year-long project that seeks to define the future of the city.

The project is a collaborative effort between citizens and Metro Government, and will include an internationally renowned architectural and planning firm located in Oslo, Norway. The Oslo-based company Space Group will lead the project, and engage residents about their dreams and visions for the city through a series of public workshops, online meetings and forums.

Fischer says the new initiative isn’t about his vision for the city, but a community-wide discussion and effort to craft what Louisville should look like in 2040.

"I’m not going to present what our city is going to look like 25 years from now. I’m going to start a process and a discussion, because it’s not that important what I think it’s going to look about. What’s important is what we think it’s going to look about, and it’s going to take a little time for us to figure that out," he says.