Following is the text from the Summer, 2008, City of Indian Hills Newsletter:

It has been a beautiful spring in Indian Hills, and the good weather has been good for us as we make improvements in the City. And now we are facing summer. As we write this newsletter the forecast for seven days is low 90F temperatures, so we will have to do a lot of watering to welcome our summer weather. MAKE A NOTE Two events that are traditionally announced in our Summer Newsletter: The Fourth of July Parade will take place on the morning of July 4th at 10:30, beginning at the corner of Tukaho and Merrick Roads in the Robinswood section of our City and ending on Ardsley Road. The Drum & Fife Corps of the Sons of the American Revolution along with their Color Guard will be participating in the parade. The Rascals of Ragtime, a Dixieland band, will entertain us at the end of the parade where we will have plenty of bottled water. Festivities should end by 11:45 a.m. COME ONE, COME ALL!!! We would like to thank Councilman Joel Deming and residents Abby Jackson, Kelly Seiler and Kristi Levenhagen for their hardworking dedication to this festival. Our Octoberfest will be held on Sunday, October 5 in Sagamore Park. This is our biggest annual City-wide event; last year we hosted well over 400 residents. There will be more detailed information about this party in the Fall Newsletter, but we wanted to give you notice to save this date as an enjoyable opportunity to meet new neighbors and spend time with old neighbors. ANNUAL BUILDING PERMIT REMINDER At this time of year, we know that some of our residents are thinking of construction projects, and we want to remind you of the need for permits for any additions, swimming pools, fences, driveways, etc. We have updated our ordinances for the City and these are available on our website http://www.indianhillsky.org. This website covers not only projects that require permits, but also details such as permit fees, hours and days that construction can take place, and fines for violation of the ordinances. Our Public Works Department Director Jim Graven issues these permits and can be reached at 552-4250. Also, if you think someone is violating any of our ordinances, please do not hesitate to call our Police Department, who stringently enforces these restrictions. Their non-emergency number is 893-2677. ANIMAL ORDINANCE While we re speaking of ordinances, we want to report that we are having a number of violations of our Dog Ordinance. We have instructed our Police to vigorously enforce this Animal Ordinance. At the request of Councilwoman Nancy Stablein, we are enclosing excerpts from this ordinance with this newsletter. This ordinance in its entirety can also be found on the Indian Hills website. Please show consideration for your neighbors by adhering to these restrictions. [See excerpts at 6.04.070 - 6.04.080 and 6.08.010 - 6.08.050]. CITY BUDGET 2008-2009 At our May 22 meeting of the Indian Hills City Council, we had the first reading of our City Budget for July 1, 2008-June 30, 2009, and will have our second reading at the June 19, 2008 meeting. After this budget is passed, it will also be posted on our website, but the highlights are that our budget is balanced and that our tax rate is the same as it has been since we merged the four cities together, and that is 20 cents per hundred with a discount of 12-1/2% if paid on or before the due date. Our two major expense items have always been and will continue to be our police department and our waste removal; these total about 80% of our total budget. Between now and our next budget year, we will have to rebid our contract for waste removal, and with the current cost of fuel and labor, we expect that our costs will escalate. Once again, we thank our Doctor of Decimal Points, Councilman Lyle Spalding, for his outstanding effort in not only preparing the budget, but keeping us as elected officials up to date on a monthly basis on the finance portion of our City. As a City, we are very grateful to have someone as interested and dedicated as Councilman Spalding to do the consistently fine job that he does for Indian Hills. This is the part of our financial report when we generally remind you of the importance of the insurance premium fee. In our budget for 2008-09, which totals $1,066,100, $105,000 of that comes from insurance fees (10% of our income. This is 10% that you did not have to pay in property taxes.) If you do not inform your insurance companies that you live in Indian Hills, this money will go to the Metro Government instead of to the community that provides your services. Please help to keep our property tax down by notifying your insurance companies that you live in Indian Hills. [Also see AN UPDATE OF OUR DELINOUENT TAX REPORT In our last newsletter we reported that we had 32 tax delinquencies for the current year. The City has collected all of the taxes for 2006-07 with one exception and we currently have seven outstanding delinquencies for the year ending June 30, 2008. We have no doubt that we will collect all of the delinquent taxes; they are liens on the properties and are a good source of income for the City until paid. This observation means that when taxes are delinquent, the City collects a 10% penalty and 1-1/2% per month interest on the unpaid balance until it. is paid. Since the tax is a lien against the property, the property cannot be transferred until the tax is paid. F.Y.I. Brownsboro Inn Property A hearing was held to set restrictions on the Fresh Market property to be built in the near future. There have been a number of meetings establishing binding elements on this land, set backs, trash container locations, loading docks; Fresh Market has given assurance that the project will be in keeping with its surroundings. There will also be a bank in this area and some other small retail space, all of which will be in separate buildings. Our main concern as a City and the concern of most of the area's neighbors is the traffic problem that currently exists at Rudy Lane and Brownsboro Road. At the same time this development is underway, the traffic situation will be addressed by Metro Government. They have promised to address the traffic excess on Rudy Lane by increasing and properly striping the lanes and adjusting the timing of the traffic signals. Also, the developers will have heavy landscaping at the Rudy Lane side of the property so that visibility of business property to Rudy Lane residents will be minimal. Azalea Restaurant Property As we reported in the last newsletter, there were lots of rumors about this property and what might be located on it. The current plan as we understand it is for a Rite Aid Drugstore to be built together with a Heinie Brothers Coffee Shop. This will mean that the former Azalea (Bauer's) will be razed, as will the two-story brick home west of it. As we learn more, we will keep you posted. Poplar Hill Place The owners and builders of this area are still proposing 12 homes on this site, but are waiting for the resolution of an appeal by the City of Indian Hills on a ruling on another piece of property in our City. COPS CORNER By Chief Kelly W. Spratt E-MAIL ALERTS Last year, the Indian Hills Police Department began sending e-mail alerts regarding criminal activity in the area. In an effort to improve the efficiency of the system, we will begin using an e-mail list service. This service will allow interested residents to subscribe to the service by accessing the website listed below. The department website (http://www.ihpd.org) will also have a link for subscribing. http://lists.ihpd.org/mailman/listinfo/alert SOLICITORS During the spring and summer months, our area sees an increase in door- to-door solicitors, mainly dealing with magazine subscription sales. Most of the representatives are from out-of-state and are not familiar with local solicitation ordinances. Some companies recruit young salespeople who have had a criminal past. One of our concerns with door-to-door solicitors is that such persons may use the guise of the solicitation to commit crimes within our area. If you are at home, and make a purchase using a personal check, it is possible for the bank information to be used fraudulently. We urge all residents to notify the Indian Hills Police of any illegal solicitors by calling our dispatch (893-2677) at the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office. When calling, report that there are illegal solicitors in the area of your address, and provide physical descriptions, if possible. KEN FLEMING REPORT Metro Council is in the midst of discussing the $810 million project for next fiscal year. When we subtract pass through monies from State, Federal and other entities, the actual budget constitutes $546 million, On the revenue side, 57 percent is basically generated from occupational and net profit taxes while 25 percent is generated from property tax. On the expense side, 54 percent is allocated to police and public protection, 10 percent goes toward public works, and 8.5 percent goes toward capital projects and debt services. Although Louisville doesn't see the boom or bust, we do need to tighten our belts. We are working diligently to find opportunities by scrutinizing the numbers, questioning the justification of programs, and pushing for better oversight in expenditures. If you have any questions or comments about the budget or general issues and concerns, I'm here to serve. Thank you for the honor. Ken Fleming Metro Government District 7 ENJOY YOUR SUMMER! As always, if you have questions, comments or suggestions about our City, do not hesitate to call your Mayor or any of your Council members.