Photo by Eric Ayres Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron recently provided members of Wheeling City Council an updated financial report for the city, which is in the fourth quarter of the current 2025-26 fiscal year.

WHEELING – Finances in the city of Wheeling remain solid as the primary revenue sources continue to stay ahead of budgeted figures as the 2025-25 fiscal year begins to wind down.

Members of the Finance Committee of Wheeling City Council met recently to review revenues and expenditures from the most recently tallied month of the year – April. The city operates on a fiscal year that begins on July 1 and ends on June 30. May financial figures are expected to be reviewed later this month, and the June financial figures will provide a clear year-end picture for 2025-26.

“We’re 10 months into the fiscal year,” Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron said.

During the monthly finance reports to city council, the city manager has noted that both the sales tax and Business and Occupation or B&O Tax revenues in Wheeling have been solid throughout this fiscal year.

“Those two main revenue sources have been strong for us, as well as property taxes, which are slightly ahead as well,” Herron said.

The state of West Virginia disburses revenues from municipal sales tax on a quarterly basis, and Herron said that the city has already received the last quarterly figures.

“Sales tax revenue has been completed for this fiscal year, and it ended up about $140,000 more than what was budgeted,” he said. “And B&O tax has also done well, with still a couple of months to go. Although those months are typically pretty lean, we’re over 100 percent of the budget on B&O tax for this fiscal year.”

On the expenditure side, the city had been reporting numbers that were slightly ahead of the budget for the fiscal year over the past several months.

“We’re falling back in line with the budget after the first couple of months of the fiscal year,” Herron said of expenditures through April, noting that spending in the city had been ahead of the projected budget for the fiscal year for a while. “The cash balance at the end of April was $2.4 million, and the budget stabilization fund was almost at $5.6 million.

“All-in-all, it’s been a pretty solid quarter so far for 10 months through the fiscal year.”

With more revenues from sales tax translating to additional revenues for the city’s Restricted Capital Improvement Project fund, officials indicated that the council was able to pass legislation that directed additional funds to needed improvement projects during this fiscal year.

“The fact that sales tax revenue is ahead in the general fund also reflects on additional revenue in the infrastructure RCIP account, as well as the arena RCIP account,” Herron explained. “As far as the infrastructure RCIP account, council a couple of weeks ago authorized an expenditure from that fund for the slip repair in Glenwood.”

Officials noted that the slip on Glenwood Road, which has been prone to slips over the years, was fixed, and the road was paved last week in the area where the work took place.