WHEELING - City Councilman James Tiu said the ordinance that would tax owners of vacant structures is not about generating revenue - it is to prevent neglected buildings from becoming hazardous.
Mayor Andy McKenzie stressed during the Tuesday City Council meeting that the ordinance council heard for first reading does not simply target structures that are vacant - the focus will be on owners who do not maintain their properties.
"This ordinance is not for revenue generation - we hope to never collect a dime on this," Tiu said of the program the city is allowed to adopt because of its participation in the West Virginia Municipal Home Rule Pilot Program.
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Photo by Casey Junkins
Wheeling Mayor Andy McKenzie, right, reviews some matters with Councilman James Tiu prior to the Tuesday Council meeting.
Council has decided to charge property owners $200 for a building that is vacant for one to two years, $400 for two to three years, $600 for three to four years, $800 for four to five years and $1,600 for a building that is vacant for at least five years. The $1,600 fee would increase will increase by $300 annually for buildings that remain vacant.
During the meeting, Tiu asked City Clerk Janice Jones to read a portion of the ordinance - on which council will vote during its 7 p.m. July 21 meeting - dealing with the purpose of the proposed law.
"The City ... shall inspect and monitor vacant buildings (especially vacant downtown buildings), shall assess the effects of the condition of those buildings on nearby structures, and shall promote substantial efforts to rehabilitate and develop such buildings when appropriate," Jones read from the ordinance.
"Rather than addressing dilapidated structures, now we are looking to prevent vacant structures from becoming dilapidated structures," Tiu said after Jones was finished reading.
Expanding on Tiu's point, McKenzie noted city officials are not targeting responsible property owners.
"It is not about being vacant - it is about being abandoned and dilapidated," McKenzie said.
According to the ordinance, a vacant building is one in which "no person or persons actually, currently conducts a lawfully licensed business, or lawfully resides, dwells, or lives in any part of the building as the legal or equitable owner(s) or tenant-occupant(s), or owner-occupant(s), or tenant(s) on a permanent, non-transient basis.
The ordinance further notes a vacant structure is one in which, "exterior maintenance and major systems of the building and surrounding real property thereof ... are in violation of the building codes or health and sanitation codes and if there is not proof of continual utility service evidencing actual use of electric, gas, water service, etc."
Councilman Don Atkinson said last week the city's additional home rule powers would allow it to place liens on the properties of those who do not pay the fees, and then force the sale of the properties to collect the money if the owners still do not pay the fines.
Also up for first reading at the Tuesday meeting was the ordinance, promoted by McKenzie and City Manager Robert Herron, to eliminate the $10 tax on each vehicle owned by city residents that officials say will save taxpayers about $25,000 annually.
But because the ordinance would raise the annual fire service for each homeowner from $85 to $95, the change is opposed by Councilmen Vernon Seals and Robert "Herk" Henry. They believe it will unfairly impact those in lower income brackets who may not own automobiles.
Henry - noting that he would most likely miss the July 21 meeting - asked City Solicitor Rosemary Humway-Warmuth if he could issue an "absentee" vote, but she told him he could not.
In another matter, City Manager Robert Herron convinced council to have two readings of the ordinance to enter an engineering contract with CT Consultants. The ordinance reads the company will provide, "services associated with wastewater system improvements for the city of Wheeling's Water Pollution Control Department, at a cost not to exceed $1,360,000."
Council approved the ordinance 6-0, as Seals was absent from the meeting.
The description and breakdown of the $15 million wastewater improvement project available for inspection in Herron's office shows engineering plans for connector line modifications and interceptor cleaning. Engineering plans for the sewer separation projects in Clator, Bedillion Lane, the area of Fifth and Main streets, W.Va. 2 near 41st Street, Stamm Lane and Alice Avenue are also included.