The Town of Lexington plans to address financial transparency and implement designated rideshare locations along its bustling Main Street.

These were two of the main topics during Lexington Town Council’s regular Feb. 12 workshop.

Positioning the potential move as part of efforts to create a safer downtown, Jack Stuart, economic development for the town, said that there has been an increasing demand for designated spots for pickups and dropoffs from rideshares such as Uber and Lyft.

According to Stuart, the traffic committee for the town recommended establishing two locations, with the first proposed location being an old valet spot near Barrio Tacos + Tequila + Whiskey and the Icehouse Amphitheater and the second being in an unmarked spot in front of the old courthouse at the other end of East Main Street’s 100 block, the heart of Lexington’s downtown.

Stuart told the town that while the plan is in the very early stages, signage is set to be posted at each location. 

Mayor Pro-Tem Ron Williams called it a great idea, adding that the signage should be incorporated with the town’s branding.

Council Member Todd Carnes also praised the measure.

“Certainly needed. We have tons of events down there that serve alcohol and we all want people to get home safely and I think it's phenomenal,” he said.

The efforts to address financial transparency sees council taking up an issue that was one of the hottest topics in November’s election, which saw a new mayor and two new council members elected.

Lexington Town Administrator Stuart Ford said that when it comes to financial transparency, the town is already going a step further than many, telling the council that they adopted a budget that is not only in accordance with state law but gives people background and details all activities the town does.

A new idea council discussed was a Lexington Transparency Center, which would increase what the disclosures the town provides online. Stuart detailed that  the center would work to ensure compliance with the Freedom of Information Act, with the hopes of making the process as seamless as possible.

“It's a coordination across departments to continually evaluate what we do as an organization to get feedback from the public about what they received as our strengths and weaknesses,” he said.

Ford offered that the town staff would easily be able to add the town’s monthly financial statements to the website, which would provide further insight as to where the town is with its budget throughout the year.

As part of this effort, the town is considering purchasing a roughly $1 million comprehensive financial system, software that would be built into the website and help the town manage information that people can access, including items already disclosed through FOIA requests, which would help the town in not having to repeatedly deal with similar requests.

The price of the software was a focus of council’s discussion, with Williams offering that he has been talking to citizens about what they would be willing to pay for and this is not it.

“They want our taxpayer dollars to be spent where we're currently spending on the police department and parks,” he said. “And improvements that if somebody wants to record so that they can, they can go through the proper process before you can get it for themselves. They didn't want to carry the burden of that cost.”

Another point of conversation was what other municipalities have done, with council asking whether others were releasing extensive detail on itemized expenditures with supporting documents. Stuart said that while he has not done an exhaustive search, he is not aware of any doing so.