HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — A city of solutions is what Huntington mayor Steve Williams echoed several times when describing Huntington in his State of the City address on Friday.
Williams gave the address inside City Hall in front of dozens said the state of the city is strong as they are coming up with many solutions to different problems.
“What is the state of the city, it’s strong” he said to the crowd. ” The data confirms it.
“A budget surplus, crime data down, overdoses down, overdose deaths down, investment in the community up, investment in infrastructure up, employee raises and protection of health benefits, multiple innovative solutions, all without tax or fee increases for four years.”
Finances and budgets were of topic Friday during the speech. Williams said he is proud of the current budget of the city, stating that for the second consecutive year the budget is projected to have in excess of a $6 million surplus while funding staffing levels to recommended levels and funding unsurpassed capital expenditures without a tax or fee increase.
Williams focused on city employees saying the city is in the midst of negotiating contracts with each of their bargaining units Huntington is ready to propose a two-percent raise for each of our bargaining units and administrative personnel in addition to a guarantee of the present insurance program for three years.
“Naturally, the compensation package and manner in which it will be implemented is subject to negotiation with each of the bargaining units,” he said during the speech. “Our employees deserve a pay raise and certainty in their health benefits for the foreseeable future.”
Williams also rolled out a proposed budget for 2020. Read his proposal by clicking here.
One of the largest ovations of the speech came when Williams said Huntington is now the center of the solution to the opioid epidemic and not the center of the epidemic itself. He mentioned the visits by the U.S. Surgeon General, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Director of the National Office of Drug Control Policy, and the British Ambassador to the United States to learn more about how the city is fighting the epidemic. Williams said the city has seen a decline in overdoses and overdose deaths.
The meat of the speech was about economic development in the city, as Williams highlighted a few projects that would be funded and are being funded by the $3 million that Huntington won from the America’s Best Communities competition. He went step-by-step with an area of the city by stating a problem followed by the solution.
Highlawn, West End and Fairfield were three sections that Huntington will continue to highlight for revitalization with the extra funding. Williams also wants to turn Huntington into “Gigabit City” with some of the ABC winnings.
“We are excited that HMDA (Huntington Municipal Development Authority) is getting closer toward announcing the purchase of eight acres from Flint Pigments on the north side of 5th Avenue,” Williams said of the Highlawn area. “The ABC winnings will provide $500,000 toward the $800,000 acquisition, which will enable Marshall University to proceed with their plans to build a new baseball stadium.”
Williams said the West End needs to be more attractable for visitors getting on and off Exit 5 on the busy I-64. He added that to date, more than $670,000 has been committed from the ABC winnings to assist efforts in the West End and Westmoreland. More than $1 million has been given to the Fairfield section of Huntington as in that section, Williams highlighted the need for more lights along Hal Greer Boulevard.
“There is an urgent need for street lighting along the Hal Greer Corridor,” he said. “Hal Greer Boulevard is a major artery into the city and is so dark it creates an impression that the area is unsafe. This is unacceptable and must be corrected immediately.”
“Gigabit City” is not a section of Huntington but rather something Huntington is becoming because of AT&T, Williams said. Huntington is set to become the first city in West Virginia with 5G cellular service from AT&T and he said this will help build more technology and infrastructure to attract more corporate partners.
While Williams said the city is looking up he knows there will always be challenges. But he knows challenges are what has made the city stronger in the last couple of years.
“Of course we have challenges and more challenges will arise,” he said. “I guarantee it. But we know we were made for a time like this. We have proven time and again in our city government, in our neighborhoods, in our businesses, in our school systems, and in our families that we have the ingenuity and the fortitude to identify and invent innovation.”
“What is the state of the city of Huntington? My Huntington is strong, Huntington strong. A city of solutions.”
To read his complete speech in a text, click here.