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Wolfe proposes fee increase
Mayor Kim Wolfe delivers the State of City address on Friday, Feb. 13, 2009, at Huntington City Hall.
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HUNTINGTON — Building on campaign promises such as bolstering public safety and improving infrastructure, Huntington Mayor Kim Wolfe on Friday released a proposed budget for the 2009-10 fiscal year that appropriates funding for more police officers and street paving.
But he is asking City Council to approve a $1 increase in the user fee to pay for it. That would bring the fee, which is charged to people who work within city limits, to $3 a week.
Wolfe outlined his budget and many other initiatives during his inaugural State of the City address at City Hall.
The user fee increase would yield about $1.6 million. The new revenue would go toward hiring four police officers and purchasing three cruisers, he said. It also would allow the city to budget $300,000 for street paving, or enough for about three miles of resurfacing, according to Wolfe’s administration. In addition, the city would hire a street sweeper operator, giving it the flexibility it needs to run two street sweepers at the same time.
“I know the user fee increase will be a controversial issue, although I think people don’t mind paying a bit more if they know they will see results,” Wolfe said. “I’m putting my reputation on this. I’m a fiscal conservative, but these monies will be spent directly on making Huntington a cleaner, safer city. In the past, it was used in a way in which people really didn’t see results.”
The user fee was implemented in 2002 at $1 a week and went to $2 a week in 2003. It has remained largely unpopular with many people who work in the city but don’t live in the city. Some City Council representatives also have decried the fee, saying it has not gone toward public safety and street repairs, its intended purposes.
Hiring four new police officers would bring the Police Department’s staffing level to 97. Police Chief Skip Holbrook said the new officers would strengthen the patrol bureau and allow the department to focus on creating more specialized units to tackle specific crimes.
The department, for example, just created a special-emphasis unit that will target street-level crimes such as vehicle break-ins and drug sales.
“These specialized units allow us to be proactive rather than reactive,” Holbrook said.
Wolfe also talked about the city’s challenges during his address, namely rising pension costs and effects from the faltering economy.
The city will have to pay $8.8 million into police and fire pension plans next year. That accounts for 21 percent of the spending in Wolfe’s proposed $42 million budget. Wolfe said he will continue lobbying legislators and pushing for a pension fix at the state level.
The slumping economy was partially why Wolfe did not include pay raises for any city employees in next year’s budget. However, the city is not expecting its largest revenue source, the business and occupation tax, to take a hit from the economic downturn.
The tax, which is assessed on a business’ gross sales, is budgeted to bring in $17.4 million next year. Finance Director Deron Runyon said the tax was budgeted to yield $16.6 million this year, though it’s on pace to generate $17 million.
While many people associate the tax with retail business, the bulk of the revenue comes from construction and utilities, Runyon said.
“Utility companies are a big factor on the B&O tax,” Runyon said. “They pay the highest rate. So as their rates steadily increase, more tax revenue comes into the city.”
The city will step up efforts over the next year to collect delinquent B&O taxes and will continue using a collection agency to assist with municipal and refuse fee collections, Wolfe said.
Keeping with the accountability theme during his speech, Wolfe spoke of the need to hire a constituent services liaison in his office. The person in that position would track complaints to ensure they are addressed promptly, coordinate with council members and department heads and walk business owners through the licensing process. An ordinance creating the position will go before City Council on Feb. 23. The position would pay $38,808, according to Wolfe’s proposed budget.
Wolfe said one of the first duties of the constituent services liaison would be to create a “one-stop shop” for inspections, permits and licenses to aide businesses, property owners and contractors.
The mayor’s budget also anticipates the city relinquishing control of Harris Riverfront Park to the Greater Huntington Park and Recreation District.
Officials for both entities have said for years that the park belongs in the hands of the park district. The park has slowly declined over the past decade as the city's financial crunch has worsened.
Wolfe said he and Park Director Jim McClelland began discussing the change last week. The city would retain ownership of the park, but it would pay the park district $226,000 to maintain it. That represents about two-thirds of the true costs to run it, Wolfe said. The city only budgeted $100,000 to maintain the park this fiscal year.
“To make that park truly what it should be, we should be spending at least ($226,000) or much more,” Wolfe said.
Council reaction
City Council has the final say on the bottom line of the budget. It will schedule hearings with Wolfe and his department heads over the next several weeks to go over the budget and make any needed changes. The city must submit a balanced budget to the state Auditor’s Office by late March.
City Council members said they were impressed with Wolfe’s vision for the city during his speech, but expressed caution afterward about a possible user fee increase.
Council Chairman Jim Insco said he needed to review the budget in its entirety and search for potential cost savings before going along with a fee hike. He and Councilman Nate Randolph said Wolfe’s administration will have to show council members what would be cut out of the budget if they don’t approve a fee increase.
“We need to be able to look at it both ways,” Randolph said.
Councilman Mark Bates said he will only vote for a user fee hike if the administration can show him it has exhausted all other potential revenue sources, including the collecting of delinquent taxes. Wolfe also needs to show those who pay the fee that it would go toward its intended purpose, Bates said.
“We have to restore the trust of the public,” he said.
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