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NEWS
Budget, fee plan now in City Council's court
HUNTINGTON -- Huntington City Council members said Friday they were impressed with Mayor Kim Wolfe's vision for the city during his State of the City speech, but expressed caution afterward about a possible user fee increase.
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.
Wolfe proposed increasing the city's user fee by $1 to a total of $3 per week.
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.
