New Programs Must Net Results
After nearly eight years of “right-sizing” city government under the previous administration, Wheeling City Council moved in the opposite direction this week.
That came with the decision to create a new position and hire a person to fill it.
At the suggestion of its Finance Committee, council created the position of director of parks and strategic planning. Jesse Mestrovic, now director of the Marshall County Convention and Visitors Bureau, will serve in the post.
Mestrovic’s mission will be improving the city’s approximately 35 parks and playgrounds, as well as planning and handling general beautification projects.
At least some city officials seem defensive regarding the action. One obvious question about it is why the city’s current workforce was not deemed adequate to handle the tasks handed to Mestrovic. Another is whether the money — possibly around $70,000 a year, counting the $52,500 salary and benefits — might have been spent more effectively on actual park and playground improvements.
Mayor Glenn Elliott addressed such concerns in a comment about Mestrovic’s hiring: “I understand we’ve lived through tough budgetary times, but often those parks are a reflection of what our city actually thinks about itself. If we don’t take care of our own parks, how can we ask people to take care of their own homes?”
Tough budgetary times may not be over for the city. Wheeling’s population has declined steadily for several decades. In 1980, the city had 43,070 residents, according to the Census Bureau. By July 1, 2015, the total had plummeted to just 27,648 — less than two-thirds of what it was in 1980.
Fewer residents and businesses has the effect of placing ever-increasing tax burdens on those remaining, unless the cost of municipal government is scaled back.
That was the reason why, under former Mayor Andy McKenzie, the “right-sizing” campaign to pare municipal spending was launched. Personnel cuts in some departments, including city police, resulted.
Elliott and new members of City Council hope their initiatives will bring growth to Wheeling. Let us hope they are right.
But going back to the old growth model of government will not work for Wheeling unless substantial results can be obtained from additional spending. That needs to be the test of any new programs in the city, including addition of the parks and planning position.
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