Wheeling City Council members Tony Assaro, Ben Seidler and Connie Cain, City Manager Robert Herron and Mayor Denny Magruder, from left, attend a budget work session Tuesday night on the proposed 2025-26 fiscal year budget. (Photo by Eric Ayres)

WHEELING – City leaders in Wheeling are returning to town to tackle a full slate of legislation today during a rescheduled council meeting set to begin at 12:15 p.m. Thursday. At the top of the list is deciding on the city’s budget – which could reach a historic level – for the next fiscal year.

City officials had been in Charleston earlier this week attending the annual West Virginia Municipal League Conference, prompting them to reschedule their regular meeting time from the third Tuesday to this afternoon in council chambers.

After weeks of budget sessions, the city is expected to vote to approve its 2025-26 General Fund Budget and 2025-26 Coal Severance Budget during today’s meeting. The city’s General Fund Budget for the next fiscal year beginning July 1 is expected to top $40 million for the first time in Wheeling’s history.

The Coal Severance Budget, based on city income totaling $100,000 from Coal Severance Tax, is set to be distributed to the Wheeling Symphony Society, the Ohio County Health Board and to general government expenses in the city.

Prior to today’s regular city council meeting, the Finance Committee of Council is slated to meet briefly beginning at noon to discuss the city’s financial report for the month of February and to tie up any loose ends on the fiscal year 2025-26 budgets before resolutions for their adoption hit the council floor.

Once the resolutions are adopted, the city budget figures will be forwarded to the state auditor’s office for review and approval. Council will then take action to lay levy rates in April.

Among unfinished business slated for action today, an ordinance is up for a vote to allocate a portion of the city’s West Virginia opioid settlement funds to Northwood Health Systems to provide opioid-related abatement. This $66,000 award is a one-time allocation to help Northwood fund a position to add a peer recovery support specialist to the assertive community treatment team.

Another ordinance up for a vote today authorizes the expenditure of $39,200 with Cincinnati Insurance Companies for renewal of insurance for the Intermodal Parking Garage to be charged to the OVRTA Parking Garage Budget.

A number of new pieces of legislation are expected to be introduced during today’s council meeting.

A new ordinance authorizing the city manager to spend $106,225 with Stonemile Group LLC of Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania, is up for a first reading. The legislation will be for restroom renovations to the lower market house at Centre Market. This project is being funded with money allocated from the city’s American Rescue Plan Act funds. Stonemile Group was the low bidder on the project. By comparison, Caliber Contracting bid $155,000, Waller Corporation bid $171,395 and Lombardi Development bid $12,250 for the job.

Another new ordinance is being introduced to clarify aspects of the city’s new free downtown parking rules and limits that will soon be enforced. The new traffic code amendment states that persons who have parked for free and/or who have been ticketed for overtime parking cannot move the vehicle to another parking space within the same parking zone in an attempt to extend parking. Officials have noted that the free downtown parking is intended to be for a limited time while motorists visit downtown businesses.

Infrastructure projects are also on today’s agenda, including a new ordinance authorizing the expenditure of $78,000 in Community Development Block Grant Funds with May Engineering Company LLC of St. Clairsville for Grandview Street slip repair engineering. A $24,500 expenditure with Ferguson Waterworks of Fairmont for the purchase of a correlator for water distribution is up for a first reading, as is a $27,000 expenditure with Centrisys of Kenosha, Wisconsin, for rental services for a centrifuge for the Water Pollution Control Department.

A new ordinance is also slated to be introduced amending the city codes regarding dogs and cats. The new section prohibits people from intentionally feeding feral or stray cats. Violators would be subject to fines ranging from $300 to $1,000, depending on the number of violations.

Another ordinance is being introduced to place a lien on private property located at 20 Zane St. where the city took action to abate a nuisance and remove debris, metal and other hazardous material at a cost totaling more than $23,667.