HUNTINGTON -- The Huntington City Council had its last budget meeting Saturday, ending with the unanimous approval of more than $867,000 in reductions that will mean 20-day furloughs and an estimated 10 layoffs.

The call for reductions came after Mayor Kim Wolfe's State of the City address on Feb. 13. His administration's initial budget included about $1 million in cuts from the $21 million combined budget of the police and fire departments. But council members overwhelmingly disapproved and directed the administration to find another way.

The reductions would affect 10 divisions and the overall personnel budget. But Wolfe and Brandi Jacobs-Jones, director of administration and finance, said division and department heads have not yet worked out exact details of how they will meet those cuts.

"Hopefully, between now and July 1, we will plot and plan to make sure this doesn't happen now or in the future," said Council Member Scott Caserta.

Council Member Fran Jackson said she didn't want to vote on anything without knowing how exactly it would impact each division. But her colleague, Steve Williams, said based on his experience with the city during the 1985 budget reduction, it is better to let the administration and its directors figure out how to best meet the figures.

"Right now, we're dealing with people's lives," Williams said. "By discussing specific positions and projects, we'd place unnecessary fear (about someone's job status after July 1)."

Among the reductions is $26,573 for legal, $32,971 in building maintenance, $155,596 in the motor pool, $102,345 from the floodwall, $198,871 from police, $120,000 from fire and $165,000 from personnel.

The cuts from the police and fire department, Jacobs-Jones said, are in overtime and equipment purchases. Many others involve personnel, which she said has troubled her.

"This is the very last thing we want to do, but because we currently have no fee increases on the table, this is what we have to do," she said. "Without an influx of new moneys, this is the reality that's before us. It's not pretty, and it's painful. You can't sleep at night thinking about the impact on families."

Council Chairman Jim Insco said he has been in talks with the mayor's office on a plan that doesn't include an increase in service of square-footage fees to alleviate what Jacobs-Jones described as a budget well past bare bones.

To meet the $1.1 budget shortfall, Jacobs-Jones also said they have budgeted for $150,000 in Business and Occupation Tax increases on the revenue side and a decrease of $25,000 to the Huntington-Cabell-Wayne Animal Shelter. The city's contributions would go from $100,000 to $75,000, she said.

Wolfe clarified that the city is not mandated to contribute anything -- only the two county commissions are. Insco added that Milton and Barboursville do not contribute anything from their budgets and said he doesn't feel the city gets the services it pays for now.

At the request of Jackson and Councilman Jim Ritter, Jacobs-Jones will ask Anita Asbury, director of the Huntington-Cabell-Wayne Animal Shelter, to attend Monday evening's City Council meeting.

There was talk of additional spending, though. Jacobs-Jones said a request will be coming to council before the end of the fiscal year to spend $99,000 to purchase six new pickup trucks. And, during the next fiscal year, a request will come for leases on three new garbage trucks. The funds would come from the Enterprise Fund and refuse fees.

The pickup trucks, she said, would be utilized by workers from the Sanitation and Trash Division. Currently, three employees go on each garbage route. However, all three also accompany the truck to the landfill, a round trip of more than an hour.

The plan is to have one driver take the truck to the landfill, while the other two take the pickup trucks back through the routes to clean up alleys and loose trash throughout the city.

"We are remiss if we continue to send three people to the landfill when two can stay behind and clean up our alleys," she said. "It allows us to provide a higher level of service our residents deserve and expect."

The budget will be discussed at Monday's city council meeting. A final budget is due to the state auditor's office by the end of March.

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