Huntington budget research and State of the Union reports

Budget exercise

In researching Huntington's city budget for the past two years, these are some numbers I found.

The population of the city is 49,185.
The size in area is 15.9 square miles.
The total revenue estimate for 2009 was $39,990,304 and for 2010 it is $42,135, 417.
The total expenditure for 2009 was $ 38,919,497 and for 2010 it is $42,135, 417.
Two categories the city makes most of its revenue are the Business and Occupation Tax, which is $17,395,121 and Municipal Service Fee, which is $5,900,00.
Two categories the city spends most of its money are police at $11,580,414 and fire at $10,271,811.


Huntington budget
In a recent story about Huntington's budget by Shane Irwin from WOWK, it was reported Mayor Kim Wolfe decided to move the spending freeze up a few months earlier than usual. Rather than the department heads approving any purchases through finance offices, all purchases will go through the mayor's office for approval. Wolfe said he moving ahead more quickly this year should help with any future problems.

City Councilman Jim Insco said everyone is "following the governor's lead" for the budget decisions. Insco said he agrees with what the mayor has decided to do with the freeze, which should ensure the city from a large deficit.


Obama's first State of the Union
With nearly 90 breaks for applause, a few murmurs and even some laughter thrown in there, President Barack Obama gave his first State of the Union address Wednesday, and as predicted in my previous column, words of encouragement and hope were given - but not without the truth. He tried to be very clear that it will not be easy for America to see change. From the economy and his plans to fix it, to the basic values we should hold as Americans, Obama was definitely giving the country a speech full of - you guessed it - hope.

Economy was the first of the predicted themes for his address. He spent a good amount of time on this topic, covering the bank bailout, a fee being proposed to the banks and tax cuts. "Jobs must be our number one focus in 2010," Obama said. He proposed the Recovery Act and a bill for new jobs to help with this focus. He also spoke of building on our infrastructure and creating jobs through clean energy efforts. Also as I predicted, he covered the budget issues of our country saying the government should tighten its belt just like American families have been forced to do and proposed a freeze on government spending for next year. To add to the ongoing healthcare debate, Obama tried to clear up some things surrounding that issue. He wants heath insurance reform for American families and claims we are closer than ever to bringing real security to more American lives. Concerning the war, Obama promised he will have all troops out of Iraq and home by this August, and will continue to partner with Iraq's people to create healthy relationships and peace with them. He also wants everyone in the country to support the troops once they are home. Another prediction come true was his mention of the victims in Haiti. He said his wife, First Lady Michelle Obama, and Vice President Joe Biden have teamed to work with Haiti to recover and rebuild after the earthquake. "America must always stand on the side of freedom and human dignity," Obama said.

Overall, my predictions were pretty accurate. Although, I thought he would go into more detail about newly-elected Scott Brown to the Senate. He also mentioned several things in his address that I didn't think of, such as allowing Americans who are gay to serve in the military if they so wish, the problems with our immigration system and the simple idea of "we are all created equal" and women should receive the same pay as men for the same jobs. Some of these topics were so simple that I looked past them, and overall, I thought his speech was encouraging but truthful.