Police, fire service fee change tabled by Weirton Council
WEIRTON -- A proposal which would have seen the residential portion of Weirton's Police and Fire Service Fee lowered by one-third was tabled by city council Monday, after several concerns about its implementation were raised.
The ordinance, tabled through a 6-1 vote, would have amended the fee, established in 2002 and amended in 2019, to lower the residential part of the fee from its current $75 per year to $50 per year - the level at which it originally was enacted.
"It's rare we get a chance to reduce a tax on the people," explained Ward 7 Councilman Terry Weigel, who sponsored the ordinance.
Weigel pointed to the implementation of the fee, along with Weirton's Business and Occupation Tax and the 1 percent sales tax over the years, saying he feels each needs to be reviewed, in his argument. He said economic growth, in recent years, has helped to provide an opportunity to make such cuts.
Weigel explained he had performed a personal review of the city's budget and believes the city can afford to make the adjustment.
"I felt the money was there to do this at this time," Weigel said, also pointing to struggles he said are faced by many residents of the city. "To some people out there, this will be the difference of having several meals or going hungry."
Ward 4 Councilman George Ash, who called for the ordinance to be tabled "indefinitely," noted he was the one who pushed for the increase from $50 to $75 in the residential fee in 2019, saying the idea was for the increase in funding to cover the costs of hiring two firefighters.
"I'm not laying off two firemen to do this," Ash said, also saying the proposal had not been vetted through the city's Finance Department.
During Thursday's meeting of the Weirton Finance Committee, the proposal received no recommendation, with Finance Director Diana Smoljanovich noting such a cut could result in anywhere from $250,000 to $500,000 not paid by residents. Weigel serves on the Finance Committee but was not in attendance at Thursday's meeting.
The other two members of the committee - Ward 3 Councilman Fred Marsh and Ward 6 Councilman Enzo Fracasso - said, while they understood the idea behind the proposal, they felt it was unfair to focus only on the residential portion of the fee.
It was a sentiment shared Monday by Weirton Area Chamber of Commerce President Brenda Mull.
"Without businesses in the community, you don't have a community," Mull said. "There's never been consideration for the businesses."
In addition to the $75 per year residential fee, the Weirton Police and Fire Service Fee includes assessments of $0.15 per square foot for businesses, and $0.08 per square foot for churches and schools. Neither of those sections of the fee have been changed since its 2002 implementation.
There is no fee on motor vehicles.
According to the City of Weirton's financial statement for the 2023-2024 fiscal year, the city received $2,110,063.25 through the fee.
As the proposal was tabled, it will remain on council's agenda.