Office of Communications

P.O. Box 1659

Huntington, WV 25717
Phone (304) 696-5540
(304) 696-4493
www.cityofhuntington.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 26, 2017
Contact:
Bryan Chambers
Communications Director
304.962.8138 (cell)
chambersb@cityofhuntington.com

Williams authorizes plan to address budget deficit

HUNTINGTON Mayor Steve Williams authorized reductions in force and operations costs in
the Huntington Police and Fire departments on Thursday, Jan. 26, to address a projected $4.8
million budget deficit for this fiscal year.
The cuts announced Thursday are projected to reduce the deficit to approximately $2.2 million.
We have made every effort to save as many jobs as possible and continue providing essential
services, Williams said. These actions will not resolve all of our budget issues. We know we
will be managing our way out of this for the next 18 months with the primary objective of
avoiding further reductions in force. Our residents expect and deserve world-class service, and as
we continue to address these financial constraints, we will implement procedures to ensure this
cannot happen again.
Based upon proposals received from department heads, Williams has authorized the following
actions:
1.) Dismiss 24 of the citys 355 employees, effective Thursday, Jan. 26.
a.) 6 civilians in HPD 3 record clerks, 1 administrative assistant, 1 IT technician, 1
fleet coordinator.
b.) 1 temporary police officer and 10 recently-hired probationary officers in HPD
c.) 7 recently-hired probationary firefighters in HFD.
2.) Reassign 3 civilian positions from the Police Department to another department and/or
position.
-MORE-

Office of Communications
P.O. Box 1659
Huntington, WV 25717
Phone (304) 696-5540
(304) 696-4493
www.cityofhuntington.com

a.) 2 code enforcement personnel will be reassigned to Public Works and paid from
trash/sanitation enterprise fund.
b.) Criminal intelligence analyst position will be eliminated in the Police Departments
budget and the employee in that position will be reassigned to the vacant position of
executive director of the Department of Planning and Development (funded by
Community Development Block Grant funds).
3.) All hiring and nonessential spending is frozen until further notice.
4.) All P-card purchases must have prior authorization of the finance director.
5.) Implement other cost-saving measures including: reduction of overtime, elimination of
HPD overtime for special events that are not essential to law enforcement mission,
training associated with an expense cancelled.
6.) Reduce the capital improvement budget line in Public Works by $1.4 million. The spring
paving program will be eliminated, but funding for pothole patching, sidewalk repairs,
snow removal and other services will not be affected. Paving will resume in the fall.
7.) The citys health plan will be changed, effective April 1, 2017, to a more cost-effective
benefit level that is more typical of private industry employer plans. The changes have
been developed through the citys Healthcare Task Force and have been discussed with
the unions in negotiations. Some of the changes were taken from union proposals, while
other changes have been part of the citys proposals ($400,000 in projected savings this
fiscal year).
8.) Continue to be aggressive in collection of delinquent taxes and fees. The city created a
multi-departmental team of employees in mid-2014 to focus on delinquent tax and fee
collections. Since then, the team has collected $5,224,309 in delinquent taxes and fees,
including $1,035,589 this fiscal year.

-MORE-

Office of Communications
P.O. Box 1659
Huntington, WV 25717
Phone (304) 696-5540
(304) 696-4493
www.cityofhuntington.com

Fiscal Summary of Plan to Address Budget Deficit

Police officer layoffs: $164,381.93
Police civilian layoffs: $151,466.44
Firefighter layoffs: $134,683.40
Police operational cuts: $294,039.00
Fire operational cuts: $98,413.00
Health care plan changes: $400,000.00
Reduction in Public Works: $1,400,000.00
Total projected savings: $2,642,983.77
Current projected deficit: $2,157,016.23
###