The new Mayor of Huntington is not wasting any time.
Just a few days after taking office, Mayor Steve Williams has already implemented freezes for hiring and nonessential spending in Huntington and will soon call for across the board city budget cuts of up to 2%.
“The idea is, it’s much easier, when you first go in, to be able to pull the reins in taut and then be able to start taking steps, if circumstances allow it, to loosen the reins,” Mayor Williams said on Thursday’s MetroNews Talkline.
His appearance on the show came before Thursday night’s public inauguration ceremony at the Keith Albee Performing Arts Center in Downtown Huntington.
Williams says he has spent the time since the November General Election getting ready to take over for former Mayor Kim Wolfe on January 1st.
He appointed transition teams to fully review public safety, public works, finances and economic development within Huntington.
“Everything revolves around economic development,” he said.
“Everything pointed to becoming more friendly for business development in the community, making sure that the way we actually go about doing business is more efficient to encourage business development.”
Mayor Williams says he’s optimistic about the future for Huntington. “We will be successful. The question is just how quickly it will occur.”