The merger of Jefferson County and Louisville — yes, the one that happened 20+ years ago — is being threatened with a recent lawsuit. We chat about that on this week's Access Louisville podcast.

LBF Reporter Michael L. Jones explains that Real estate developer David Nicklies is challenging the constitutionality of merged local governments in Louisville Metro and Lexington-Fayette Urban County.

In a lawsuit filed in Jefferson District Court, Nicklies argues that the laws enabling these consolidations are examples of unconstitutional “special legislation” — laws tailored to specific localities in violation of Sections 59 and 60 of the Kentucky Constitution. Jones has a full story on the issue here.

The way in which merger was executed has been unpopular with some residents for a long time — particularly those who live outside of the old city limits, known today as the Urban Services District. Those outside the district don't get the same level of city services — garbage pickup, for instance — as those inside the district. Nicklies lawsuit argues that those residents, himself included, have been harmed by the merger. 

We get into some the reaction to that on the show, as Jones spoke with former Mayor Jerry Abramson, an advocate of merger. 

In a later segment of the show, we get to know Louisville Business First's newest reporter Olivia Estright. She joined LBF and the Access Louisville podcast crew just a few weeks ago and will be covering residential real estate, Southern Indiana and professional services in the city. You can read more about Estright here. 

And to wrap things up LBF President and Publisher Lisa Benson is on the show this week with a conversation with Chip Sutherland, managing director at Baird. Baird is the sponsor of the show and they talk about a number of topics including Baird's role in public project finance.

Access Louisville is a weekly podcast from Louisville Business First. It's available on popular podcast services including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.