March 15, 2008
Street Paving Coming; City Council Approves Budget Revisions
Positions, Trucks, Grader Out; Six Crown Vics, Street Sweeper Still In
By Tony Seaton
Huntingtonnews.net
More than two miles of road could be paved under the proposed revisions to the fiscal year '08-'09 budget approved at a Special Call city council budget meeting Friday. The revised budget adds $430,000 for paving, which costs upwards of $178,000 per mile.
Council, along with the administration, managed to add paving and some other items, such as a stump grinder by approving the proposed cutting of two positions in the engineering department; reducing the unscheduled overtime in the fire department by $37,000; cutting $100, 000 from the $800,000 originally budgeted for police overtime and slicing $112, 000 from the clothing allowance for employees who wear uniforms.
That line item will be replaced with a voucher system,according to Mayor David Felinton. Councilman Cal Kent called the $ 2,000 per employee cost of the allowance ''basically a gift'" and he expressed doubt that many employees used that much on uniform maintenance and replacement anyway. Money was retained for the uniform needs of the six new police officers the department is bringing on board.
Funding for the new officers and a street sweeper is still in the budget proposal. The stump grinder will be in addition to one the city already has and will allow for the removal of tree stumps whenever a tree falls or is felled. Mayor Felinton said the plan is to plant a tree for every one that's removed. The budget also provides partial funding for a new code enforcement officer in keeping with the ''aggressive collections'' edict under which the city is operating. The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program would pay for the rest of the position's salary.
Six of the originally planned for seven new ''police package'' Ford Crown Victoria vehicles are still in. Eliminating one took $9,300 out of the budget. Councilman Jim Insco asked Chief Skip Holbrook why he didn't want to purchase Chevrolet Impalas instead, which he said would cost less. Holbrook explained that most police departments use Crown Vics and that switching to Impalas would cost more in the long run, as such a move would necessitate extra driver training because Impalas are front-wheel drive vehicles, [and handle much differently] and the maintenance garage is set up for the rear-wheel drive Fords.
The shortfall in this year's budget of $218,000 is expected to resolve itself, Administration and Finance Director Brandi Jacobs-Jones said, as the mayor initiated a spending freeze at the end of February. She said normally when that move is made ''the budget balances out."
Finance Director Bob Wilhelm proposed suspending the city's $341,000 contribution to a supplemental health insurance fund for police and fire retirees. He said the amount already in the pool of funds is enough to cover for the next three years and that the city still has two more payments it will make this year. The fund supplements retirees' monthly insurance premiums.
The council also approved a resolution requesting the mayor seek a proposal from the West Virginia Public Employees Insurance Agency(PEIA) for health insurance for city of Huntington employees.The insurance bid the city has received is untenable, according to the mayor. He said they'd investigated Parkersburg's use of PEIA and on a per-employee basis, it looks much more affordable than the budget-busting premium Blue Cross-Blue Shield wants to charge.
Huntington City Council is expected to give its final approval of the budget on Friday, March 21. The new budget year begins July 1.
Make HNN Your Homepage (IE Users Only)
Positions, Trucks, Grader Out; Six Crown Vics, Street Sweeper Still In
   |
| images:seaton |
By Tony Seaton
Huntingtonnews.net
More than two miles of road could be paved under the proposed revisions to the fiscal year '08-'09 budget approved at a Special Call city council budget meeting Friday. The revised budget adds $430,000 for paving, which costs upwards of $178,000 per mile.
Council, along with the administration, managed to add paving and some other items, such as a stump grinder by approving the proposed cutting of two positions in the engineering department; reducing the unscheduled overtime in the fire department by $37,000; cutting $100, 000 from the $800,000 originally budgeted for police overtime and slicing $112, 000 from the clothing allowance for employees who wear uniforms.
That line item will be replaced with a voucher system,according to Mayor David Felinton. Councilman Cal Kent called the $ 2,000 per employee cost of the allowance ''basically a gift'" and he expressed doubt that many employees used that much on uniform maintenance and replacement anyway. Money was retained for the uniform needs of the six new police officers the department is bringing on board.
Funding for the new officers and a street sweeper is still in the budget proposal. The stump grinder will be in addition to one the city already has and will allow for the removal of tree stumps whenever a tree falls or is felled. Mayor Felinton said the plan is to plant a tree for every one that's removed. The budget also provides partial funding for a new code enforcement officer in keeping with the ''aggressive collections'' edict under which the city is operating. The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program would pay for the rest of the position's salary.
Six of the originally planned for seven new ''police package'' Ford Crown Victoria vehicles are still in. Eliminating one took $9,300 out of the budget. Councilman Jim Insco asked Chief Skip Holbrook why he didn't want to purchase Chevrolet Impalas instead, which he said would cost less. Holbrook explained that most police departments use Crown Vics and that switching to Impalas would cost more in the long run, as such a move would necessitate extra driver training because Impalas are front-wheel drive vehicles, [and handle much differently] and the maintenance garage is set up for the rear-wheel drive Fords.
The shortfall in this year's budget of $218,000 is expected to resolve itself, Administration and Finance Director Brandi Jacobs-Jones said, as the mayor initiated a spending freeze at the end of February. She said normally when that move is made ''the budget balances out."
Finance Director Bob Wilhelm proposed suspending the city's $341,000 contribution to a supplemental health insurance fund for police and fire retirees. He said the amount already in the pool of funds is enough to cover for the next three years and that the city still has two more payments it will make this year. The fund supplements retirees' monthly insurance premiums.
The council also approved a resolution requesting the mayor seek a proposal from the West Virginia Public Employees Insurance Agency(PEIA) for health insurance for city of Huntington employees.The insurance bid the city has received is untenable, according to the mayor. He said they'd investigated Parkersburg's use of PEIA and on a per-employee basis, it looks much more affordable than the budget-busting premium Blue Cross-Blue Shield wants to charge.
Huntington City Council is expected to give its final approval of the budget on Friday, March 21. The new budget year begins July 1.
Make HNN Your Homepage (IE Users Only)
