July 14, 2010
Huntington’s Home Rule Proposal Envisioned Occupation Tax Offsetting $2.00 User Fee, Business Taxes
Dr. Calvin Kent Recalled it as a “Revenue Neutral” Tax
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) - Reflecting on the nearly three hour Huntington City Council meeting Monday, July 12, moves a reform package forward but raises other questions. The answers to them do not appear ‘yes’ or ‘no’ but a veiled gray.
For a perspective on the city’s Home Rule authority and other fiscal matters, HNN sought Dr. Cal Kent, a former Huntington City Councilman and dean of the MU Lewis College of Business. He helped prepare the presentation to the WV Pilot Home Rule program board. However, he told HNN that he agreed to remain silent in discussing home rule issues, unless council or an administration member sought his advice.
Retaining that general rule for inquiries, HNN briefly discussed the city’s current circumstances with Kent on Tuesday, July 13. All of Dr. Kent’s comments were spontaneous and without checking any records.
First, a bit of good news --- he generally believes that the country is slowly and steadily growing. It’s not happening as fast as everyone would prefer, but depending upon whose analysis you rely, the recession was the deepest (or one of the deepest) since the Great Depression
But, Kent points to a leveling off of construction in the City of Huntington to the dip in city revenue collections. Construction of the Alumni Center, the new dormitories, the wellness center, and expansion at both hospitals delivered revenue from B & O on the construction costs and user fees from employees building the new facilities.
Although he helped work out resolution of the police/fire pension fund anchor, Kent stated that the agreement , for the first couple of years, does not bring a decline in amounts reserved for the funds. The decision will in the next few years gradually reduce the city’s apportionment for pensions.
The opposition to the occupation tax did not surprise him, as it has both favorable and unfavorable benefits. His voice appeared to stress the unfavorable aspects, though he did not enumerate them. He did recall that when he worked on the tax, it fell into a “revenue neutral” category.
City of Weirton minutes from 2007 offer a little more insight into Kent’s thoughts and Huntington’s proposal. John Larch, First Financial Partners, Weirton, WV, quoted Kent as stating: “ In an ideal situation, if we went with the payroll tax, maybe we could get rid of the obnoxious two-dollar a week user fee and rid ourselves of the B & O tax which is driving businesses out of the City of Huntington.” (See: http://www.cityofweirton.com/ph121007.htm John Larch, First Financial Partners Weirton)
During the brief interview, HNN did not ask Kent about furloughs and closing city hall on Friday. Instead, we asked for his recollections on the powers of the administration (executive) and council (legislative) on budget assembly.
A dispute in about 2003 erupted between Huntington City Council and the David Felinton administration. At issue --- where did the power of City Council and the administration extend in designation of budget matters. After City Attorney Ted Morgan stepped aside stating he had a conflict by representing both the administration and the mayor, Dr. Kent contributed his council salary (or a portion thereof), to hire an outside attorney from Wheeling, WV.
Kent said the case did not go to court. It was settled by an ad hoc committee of council negotiating with the Felinton administration. (EDITOR’S NOTE: Based on current developments, HNN conjectures It is unclear since the new administration does not recognize, for instance, certain labor/management agreements and extensions of the Felinton administration, whether this ‘agreement’ between a former council and a former mayor would still be binding on the current council and current mayor.)
Not having documents sitting in front of him, Kent provided a generalization of the agreement, which he stated should be in the minutes of a council meeting from the 2003.
Generally, the parties agreed that council had the power to approve budgets of individual city divisions. Council could approve the number of employees in a division (i.e. Division C would have 120 or 3 employees). But, the mayor had the power to control the expenditures of a city division contained within that division’s approved budget.
Enterprise funds (such as the Huntington Sanitary Board) are separate from the ‘general fund’ and the city budget.
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Huntington’s Home Rule Proposal Envisioned Occupation Tax Offsetting $2.00 User Fee, Business Taxes
Dr. Calvin Kent Recalled it as a “Revenue Neutral” Tax
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) - Reflecting on the nearly three hour Huntington City Council meeting Monday, July 12, moves a reform package forward but raises other questions. The answers to them do not appear ‘yes’ or ‘no’ but a veiled gray.
For a perspective on the city’s Home Rule authority and other fiscal matters, HNN sought Dr. Cal Kent, a former Huntington City Councilman and dean of the MU Lewis College of Business. He helped prepare the presentation to the WV Pilot Home Rule program board. However, he told HNN that he agreed to remain silent in discussing home rule issues, unless council or an administration member sought his advice.
Retaining that general rule for inquiries, HNN briefly discussed the city’s current circumstances with Kent on Tuesday, July 13. All of Dr. Kent’s comments were spontaneous and without checking any records.
First, a bit of good news --- he generally believes that the country is slowly and steadily growing. It’s not happening as fast as everyone would prefer, but depending upon whose analysis you rely, the recession was the deepest (or one of the deepest) since the Great Depression
But, Kent points to a leveling off of construction in the City of Huntington to the dip in city revenue collections. Construction of the Alumni Center, the new dormitories, the wellness center, and expansion at both hospitals delivered revenue from B & O on the construction costs and user fees from employees building the new facilities.
Although he helped work out resolution of the police/fire pension fund anchor, Kent stated that the agreement , for the first couple of years, does not bring a decline in amounts reserved for the funds. The decision will in the next few years gradually reduce the city’s apportionment for pensions.
The opposition to the occupation tax did not surprise him, as it has both favorable and unfavorable benefits. His voice appeared to stress the unfavorable aspects, though he did not enumerate them. He did recall that when he worked on the tax, it fell into a “revenue neutral” category.
City of Weirton minutes from 2007 offer a little more insight into Kent’s thoughts and Huntington’s proposal. John Larch, First Financial Partners, Weirton, WV, quoted Kent as stating: “ In an ideal situation, if we went with the payroll tax, maybe we could get rid of the obnoxious two-dollar a week user fee and rid ourselves of the B & O tax which is driving businesses out of the City of Huntington.” (See: http://www.cityofweirton.com/ph121007.htm John Larch, First Financial Partners Weirton)
During the brief interview, HNN did not ask Kent about furloughs and closing city hall on Friday. Instead, we asked for his recollections on the powers of the administration (executive) and council (legislative) on budget assembly.
A dispute in about 2003 erupted between Huntington City Council and the David Felinton administration. At issue --- where did the power of City Council and the administration extend in designation of budget matters. After City Attorney Ted Morgan stepped aside stating he had a conflict by representing both the administration and the mayor, Dr. Kent contributed his council salary (or a portion thereof), to hire an outside attorney from Wheeling, WV.
Kent said the case did not go to court. It was settled by an ad hoc committee of council negotiating with the Felinton administration. (EDITOR’S NOTE: Based on current developments, HNN conjectures It is unclear since the new administration does not recognize, for instance, certain labor/management agreements and extensions of the Felinton administration, whether this ‘agreement’ between a former council and a former mayor would still be binding on the current council and current mayor.)
Not having documents sitting in front of him, Kent provided a generalization of the agreement, which he stated should be in the minutes of a council meeting from the 2003.
Generally, the parties agreed that council had the power to approve budgets of individual city divisions. Council could approve the number of employees in a division (i.e. Division C would have 120 or 3 employees). But, the mayor had the power to control the expenditures of a city division contained within that division’s approved budget.
Enterprise funds (such as the Huntington Sanitary Board) are separate from the ‘general fund’ and the city budget.
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