HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Huntington Mayor Steve Williams is supporting a proposal that, if approved by Huntington’s City Council, would take the weekly user fee workers there pay from $3 to $5.
“We’ve come to the realization that, if we’re going to be what we expect that we can be, we’re going to have to invest more,” Williams said on Monday’s MetroNews “Talkline” ahead of a scheduled first reading of the proposed ordinance allowing for the increase during Huntington City Council’s Monday night meeting.
If the proposal advances, opportunities for public comments will come later this year.
“It’s a really hard sell,” Williams admitted. Adding up to $260 from each worker in Huntington every year, the higher user fee would generate $3 million in additional funding for the Huntington Police Department along with Huntington’s street paving and other infrastructure programs.
Last year, Huntington abandoned plans to hire ten additional police officers because there was no funding for the additions. City street officials have identified more than $6 million in road needs, with the road budget in Huntington limited to $1 million annually.
Williams ran for office in opposition to the user fee, but said his current support is about improving existing services.
“Frankly, I hate the user fee because it’s regressive as can be, but to put something additional on businesses that are looking to invest in the area, I don’t think makes sense,” Williams said.
“This is the easiest (option), even though it’s the most regressive fee that we could put in place and it gives us an opportunity to act now.”
The weekly user fee of $3 has been charged to those working within the city limits of Huntington since 2009. Those working for more than one employer per week can request that only one employer withhold the user fee.
Opponents of the proposed higher user fee, according to Williams, should either offer other strategies to generate additional revenues for police and roads or prepare for services to remain at their current levels.
“If folks don’t want to pay the additional amount then they’re not wanting the additional services and, if that’s the case, then we’ll accept that and then we’ll continue running the operation that we have,” Williams said. “We think we can do a lot more.”