City Council Meeting- Monday, March 23

Huntington City Council members approved the 2015-2016 fiscal year budget Monday during their meeting. The budget passed 5-4 and will go into effect July 1.

Mayor Steve Williams said the new budget will permit the addition of two new field auditors in the finance department. Williams said the new budget will allow operations in the city’s police, fire department and public works departments to remain unchanged.

The city council also passed a resolution forgiving all liens against the Douglass Centre and Ebenezer Medical Outreach. This resolution allows the free clinic operated by Ebenezer Medical Outreach to continue to provide care at the Douglass Centre location with a lower lease.

The main hallway of City Hall may be getting an upgrade. During the meeting, Mayor Williams asked city council members to approve a resolution that would allow for repairs to be made to the front hallway to update the atmosphere of City Hall.

Williams said funding the project is not a concern of the taxpayers.

“This project would not cost the taxpayers any money. All of the funding would come from private donor’s donations,” Williams said.

The renovations are set to cost no more than $25,000. The resolution passed unanimously with a 9-0 vote. The Council will focus more on the details of the hallway floor construction project in the coming weeks.

The next city council meeting is at 7:30 p.m. April 13 at Huntington City Hall.

City Council Plans for Citywide Pothole Repairs

After this year’s rough winter took a toll on city roads, Huntington Mayor Steve Williams asked for city council’s cooperation Monday in repairing road damage and potholes.

During the city council meeting, the mayor asked that council members get input from their constituents on repair needs and submit a list for paving to the Public Works Department by March 20. Williams said he knows this project will take time but emphasized the severity of the situation.

“After coming out of this winter season, our roads are beat to Hades,” Williams said.

Williams said patching the potholes would begin once the weather improves and the roadways lose excess water. He said the lists from constituents are a way to plan ahead for upcoming improvements.

Williams added that during the last winter storm, all of Huntington’s snow plows ran 3 days with no accidents or injuries reported.

During his report at the meeting, Williams also announced that Huntington was the recipient of a $200,000 brownfield planning grant funded by the Environmental Protection Agency. Williams said the grant would ensure that the project is efficient and effective.

“This $200,000 grant will help us measure twice and cut once,” Williams said.

The grant would contribute to funding for an extensive overhaul of the area between Marshall University and the Highlawn area. According to Williams, the area functioned for 142 years as an industrial property but has not been used for the last 10-20 years.

The area, which encompasses 78-acres worth of property, is likely to house Rubberlite Incorporated, an advanced polymer manufacturing center, as well as mixed-use development. Williams said the manufacturing center would also bring more opportunities for cooperative efforts between the city and Marshall University.

Williams also declared April 2015 Fair Housing Month to commemorate the 47^th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act of 1968.

The city council voted to refer a resolution prohibiting advertisements on the Greater Huntington Wall of Fame to the Recreation Committee for further discussion.

Williams said he hopes the referral will allow for an intelligent and thoughtful decision to be made that will not constitute a complete ban on a medium for businesses in the city.

The next city council meeting is March 23 at 7:30 p.m.

City Makes Cuts, While Some Revenue Declines

Funding for Huntington police and fire departments would be cut by 2 percent in the projected budget for fiscal year 2016. This cut will result in a loss of  $150,000 for each department.

The budget, recently released by Huntington Mayor Steve Williams, also includes a significant cut in funding for the Public Works: Streets and Highways section. The section is set to lose $123,666 in FY2016. This amount is an 8.7 percent change from the 2015 amended budget, and information has not yet been released about the specific areas or projects this cut will affect. It is likely that paving will take a hit, which may be a point of concern for Huntington residents.

The landfill closure fund, another public works section, would experience a cut in the projected FY2016 budget. The $1.5 million allocation for the landfill fund in the FY2015 amended budget would be completely drained in FY2016. A representative for the mayor was contacted about this issue but has not responded to the request.

The insurance program for self-insured is projected to take a significant hit in FY2016 to the tune of $407,706.

While the Business and Occupation tax still makes up the largest part of the city’s revenue, it is projected to experience a 4 percent decrease in FY2016.  According to the City of Huntington website, this tax is paid by “any business that is engaged in or caused to be engaged in activities with the object of gain of economic benefit.” The mayor has not disclosed the specific cause for the decrease.

Revenue from city sales tax is also experiencing a decline from the 2014 budget to the FY2016 proposed budget. In an interview, Mayor Williams mentioned a large company in the area not wanting to pay sales tax, which could be a large contributor to the decline.

The FY2015 amended budget was created after a long-term analysis of the budget in fiscal year 2014. The city administration is discussing and analyzing the proposed fiscal year 2016 budget at this time.