Huntington City Council’s March 24 meeting raised tensions in city hall as members and attendees debated the allocation of funds for the fiscal year 2025 budget.
Council members and attendees stated their dissatisfaction with the budget, citing a 50% slash in funding toward the Cabell Wayne Animal Control Shelter and the “withholding” of funds in a contingency account by Mayor Patrick Farrell.
Farrell defended his proposed budget, focusing on prioritizing funding essential city services as well as maintaining a contingency fund to handle unexpected expenses.
“It is fiscally responsible for me to look at what our expenses are, look at what our revenues are and make sure the first thing we fund is our people here,” Farrell said. “The people that we pay – the people that have insurance, and there’s essential services like our police department, like our fire department.”
Fiscal year 2024 ended in a deficit, he added, resulting in an audit adjustment of $1.2 million due to budget outspending.
Continually raising concerns throughout the meeting was animal shelter funding, which the opposition said was too low, suggesting a 100% increase.
For the past 11 out of 12 years, Farrell said the shelter has received funds up to $200,000, the only exception being last year when the federal American Rescue Plan Act doubled it, but the money has already been spent.
Farrell said the previous mayoral administration of Stephen Williams proposed the same budget plan of $200,000, which passed unanimously.
“What changed from 2024 when you unanimously voted in favor of a $200,000 budget for the animal shelter,” he said. “I’ll tell you one thing that changed is we had an election, and when I ran, I ran on the idea that the national parties and politics have no place in Huntington.”
He added that he aims to begin with $200,000, see how the year progresses fiscally and then adjust funds accordingly depending on what the shelter needs.
Ultimately, council members voted to increase the animal shelter budget by $50,000 – money sourced from reducing the city’s jail bill from $550,000 to $500,000.
Huntington citizen Douglas Franklin showed support for Farrell’s budget.
“Budgets, whether it’s municipal or home budgets, are all based on priorities,” he said. “Our mayor put together a good budget with good priorities, and now we have some folks that want to tinker with that, but they don’t want to take responsibility for that if it goes wrong.”
Members of the public also spoke out against the upcoming closure of the Huntington City Mission’s low-barrier shelter.
Huntington resident Jeremy Bailey said, “I’m here to speak for the overnight shelter at the mission. This place gives shelter for over 70 people each night, and to them, this isn’t just a shelter, it’s a lifeline.”
He said closing it would create a ripple effect for the community, jeopardizing the well-being of the public as the unhoused would be sleeping on the streets.
Gina Turner, Marshall student and veteran, spoke out as well.
“Not giving people the potential and helping them get into housing doesn’t just not realize that person’s potential, it doesn’t realize what they can contribute to society,” she said.
Ally Layman, council district at large, questioned Farrell’s trustworthiness outright.
“For me, what has changed is trust,” she said. “We did not have to worry about what Mayor Williams was going to do. What he said he was going to do, he did.”
She said Farrell’s “withholding of funds” from city Information and Referral Services also brings distrust.
Farrell said he isn’t withholding funds but instead is ensuring the budget satisfies essential city needs, such as health insurance, before giving money to outside agencies, such as I&R.
“I’ve had a lot of conversations about supporting it, and I want to, but before we give it to an outside agency, we’re going to make sure that our people and our families that rely on health insurance have it,” Farrell said.
Holly Belmont can be contacted at [email protected].
