HUNTINGTON -- Huntington City Council passed a 2011 fiscal budget Monday night that includes furloughs for public works and administrative employees and $867,000 in unspecified cuts that city leaders say would likely result in layoffs.

Mayor Kim Wolfe said after the meeting, however, that he will bring a "revenue-generating" proposal to council members in the next few weeks that would stave off furloughs and layoffs.

Wolfe and council members for the past month have wrangled with a proposed budget strapped with recession-weakened revenues. That forced the mayor to propose furloughs for all city employees and layoffs to eight civilian employees in the Police and Fire departments in the initial budget that he presented to the council last month.

Council members have since restored funding to prevent furloughs and layoffs in the police and fire departments. But 20-day furloughs for public works and administrative employees, along with the $867,000 in unspecified cuts across 10 departments, remain. The city also was forced to raise insurance program costs by $565,000 in next year's budget, which stands at $40.2 million.

"This is a very austere budget that takes severe steps backward from the progress we've made over the last 15 months," Councilman Steve Williams said.

Williams, who is chairman of the council's finance committee, said it's now up to Wolfe's administration to either specify how the spending cuts should be made or propose tax or fee increases. He also noted that time is an important factor, as the 2011 fiscal year begins July 1.

"I know what I'm going to recommend, but I'll lay it all out at the appropriate time," Wolfe said after the meeting. "Obviously, we're looking at additional revenues."

Since Wolfe released his proposed budget, talk has surfaced of a 1 percent occupation tax, which the city has the authority to implement under a five-year home rule pilot program. The program began in 2008. Under the city's home rule plan, the $3-a-week user fee would have to be repealed if city officials opted for an occupation tax.

When Wolfe is ready to propose a plan to City Council, Williams said the finance committee will have three public hearings. The first will be reserved for Wolfe to explain his plan to the committee. The second will be used to take public comments. At the third hearing, the committee will debate the proposal and vote on whether it should be forwarded to the full council. The proposal would have to withstand two readings at that level.

"It's an opportunity for the light to shine fully on whatever plan the mayor brings forward through five separate hearings," Williams said.

Williams requested that Wolfe present his plan at the first public hearing within the next couple of weeks.

Animal shelter cuts

Also included in the approved budget is a $25,000 reduction in the city's contribution to the Huntington-Cabell-Wayne Animal Shelter. The city contributes $100,000 now.

Shelter director Anita Asbury said if the decrease remains, it will prevent her from filling a full-time dog warden position that becomes vacant later this week. The shelter also would have to lay off a part-time warden, meaning it would be left with one full-time dog warden to serve Cabell and Wayne counties and the municipalities that fall within them, Asbury said.

"We do what we can to the best of our ability," Debbie Young, the shelter's office manager, told council members. "I'm just so tired of the bureaucracy and people making critical decisions when they have no idea of how our shelter runs."

The shelter took in approximately 10,000 animals, answered more than 5,000 complaints and handled about 500 humane cases last year, Young said. Two humane officers work at the shelter.

Young and Asbury said people ask frequently to volunteer at the shelter, but few stick around after they find out what the work entails.

"We need someone to clean crap out from underneath the cages or help with a puppy that's shaking so violently that you have to hold its neck so we can vaccinate it," Young said. "There's a lot of stress that comes with the job. We don't need someone who's going to hug Fido or kiss Fluffy."

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Huntington City Hall.