State of the City of Huntington

In Mayor Kim Wolfe's State of the City address, he talked about the accomplishments within the city of the Huntington and the problems the economy has brought with it.

Beginning with a quote from Bill George's book "7 Lessons for Leading in a Crisis," the mayor told the city that he could not be a good leader without his partnerships, most importantly that of the pension reform issue. Wolfe thanked the Huntington City Council for the User Fee increase and explained that because of this increase, the city was able to hire more police officers, pave more streets and purchase more equipment for the Street and Traffic Engineering divisions.

One of the largest successes from the previous year, the mayor said, was  the Greater Huntington Park and Recreation District collaborations. Other successes included were the creation of the Constituent Services Liaison, the international attention from "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution," and the city received $200,000 in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds for expansion of pedestrian development.

Oliver's "Food Revolution" was a big hype in the city of Huntington, and the mayor said the city viewed this as an opportunity to remove the "Fattest City in America" label.

Wolfe said the first phase of the Old Main Corridor was completed and has begun phase two.

The Weed and Seed Program in Huntington was another topic of successes. The program was recognized at a national level and the city saw results because of its efforts.

Despite these success stories, as well as several others the mayor went over in his address, the city of Huntington still is faced with the economic issues of the country.

Wolfe said the city has the opportunity to "reshape how we do business and provide services." He wants the city's businesses to focus more on the long term rather than the short-term results, as well as solutions in overcoming challenges.

The mayor announced that the budget from last year, $44 million, was reduced 10 percent because of the economic challenges, making the budget approximately $40 million.

The mayor said his administration does not propose layoffs of civil service employees, but they may be moved to some administrative positions, reducing first responders’ level of service.

Wolfe said in his closing comments that the city will remain focused on a creating a better, stronger city and businesses. His last statement reflected the spirit of the Olympics from the ancient Athenian Creed from Greece. Wolfe paraphrased the Creed and said the citizens of the city will work together to make the city "greater, better and more beautiful than it was transmitted to us."