As Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott has pointed out, most people voting in Tuesday’s election — nearly 54 percent of them — agreed to a new tax levy to build a new headquarters for the police and fire departments and to make a few other public safety facility and equipment improvements. But 4,337 voters, about 46 percent of the total, voted against the levy. That is a very substantial number of people who have serious resercations about the city government proposal. Designed to raise about $22 million, the levy will not go into effect. State law requires such issues to be approved by at least 60 percent of voters. The failure has prompted Elliott and members of Wheeling City Council to consider other avenues to fund public safety upgrades. Among those ideas is enactment of a municipal “user fee.” It would be paid by people who work in the city but do not live here. Though user fees are utilized in many cities, Wheeling officials should be very careful in considering them. They could be counterproductive in attracting new businesses to downtown Wheeling. It is true facilities housing the city police and fire departments are inadequate. Elliott was correct to note that, after the election, “deficiences in the buildings still remain. They don’t go away.” As an alternative to the user fee, the mayor has said city officials may attempt to find another location for the police department and plan for fire station improvements at some later date. That possibility indeed… [Read full story]
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