HUNTINGTON -- Even though a state panel has given the city of Huntington the green light to adopt a 1 percent occupation tax and land bank authority, city officials are in no hurry.
The proposed tax and land bank authority are the two main components of Huntington's home rule plan, which was approved last month for participation in a five-year pilot program. The state committee also approved plans submitted by Charleston, Wheeling and Bridgeport.
Administration and Finance Director Brandi Jacobs-Jones said more research needs to be done on the tax and land bank authority before they can move to City Council for consideration. The research could even show that an occupation tax and land bank authority are not feasible, she said.
"There's just more work that we need to do," Jacobs-Jones said Monday. "We want to show success, so we're going to proceed very thoroughly.
"No matter what happens, I think citizens will be pleased by the process and at least appreciate the amount of work we are going to put into this."
Huntington officials know other cities across the state are watching their progress very closely. During the fourth year of the program, the West Virginia Legislature's Joint Committee on Government and Finance will conduct a performance review of the pilot program and submit its findings to the Joint Committee on Government Organization. The committee will recommend in 2013 whether the program should expire or continue.
"All eyes in West Virginia will be upon you," state Sen. Ed Bowman, a non-voting panel member who sponsored legislation creating the pilot program, told Mayor David Felinton last month when the panel approved Huntington's home rule plan. "Hopefully, you can do this right, because you could be setting the course for all other cities in West Virginia."
Team leaders have been assigned to each of the four components that make up Huntington's home rule plan, Jones said. Those leaders will form committees to conduct research and gather public input.
The two less controversial components of the plan -- strengthening ordinances to collect delinquent fees and capturing fire insurance claim proceeds to ensure residents use the money to tear down fire-damaged structures -- likely will be addressed before the land bank and occupation tax, Jacobs-Jones said.
Fire Marshal Dave Bias is the team leader for the fire insurance claim issue, while city attorney Scott McClure is leading the discussion about tougher collection ordinances.
The occupation tax committee will be led by City Councilman Cal Kent. Charles Holley, the city's director of development and planning, is the team leader of the land bank committee.
Jacobs-Jones said the occupation tax committee will consult with other cities that have implemented the tax, such as Ashland. It also will talk to business owners who are opposed to the tax, she said.
"We need to bring them into the process and learn why they don't want an occupation tax," Jacobs-Jones said. "Some business owners have told me they will pay more with the occupation tax than they do on all of their state taxes. That's not the case, but in having casual dialogues with people, there are a lot of misperceptions coming to light."
As for the land bank, there are plenty of questions about who the administrative agency will be and how the city will play a role in a process that is currently controlled by county government.
The proposed land bank authority would take ownership of rundown properties that are not sold at county tax lien sales and return them to productive use within two years. The proposal is modeled after the Genesee County Land Bank Authority in Flint, Mich.
The land that the authority takes over would be used for new housing developments, combined to form large tracts of land or donated to adjacent property owners to use as side yards.
As many as 250 pieces of abandoned property could be acquired over the course of the five-year, home rule pilot program, according to the city's home rule plan.
It would result in a savings of $437,000 in demolition costs, generate a $70 million increase in property values and pump an additional $346,000 into the county's delinquent tax sales fund.
Jacobs-Jones said a team of city officials could travel to Flint, Mich., to learn more about the land bank it is hoping to model.
The Genesee County Land Bank was recognized last year for its urban renewal efforts as the winner of the 2007 Fannie Mae Foundation Innovations Award in Affordable Housing.
The land bank was one of seven $100,000 winners for the Innovations in American Government Awards, which were created by the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University.
The award gives the land bank an opportunity to share its methods with other communities nationwide.
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