MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Officials in Morgantown conducted their fourth COVID-related budget adjustment- this time some items cut early in the pandemic were restored.
To date, the city has received $5,028,590 in CARES Act money and will get another $1 million per month until the end of the year, according to interim city manager Emily Muzzarelli.
Most of the CARES Act money has been used to reimburse the city for first responder COVID-related expenses and restoring contingency dollars. Now, use of the funds will expand to reinstating a 2.5 percent raises, some promotions, filling some open positions and funding other city departments.
“We were able to reinstate the full allocations we previously had for the library, Mountain Line Transit Authority and BOPARC,” Muzzarelli said.
For the future, Muzzarelli says they are exploring the possibility of adding a social worker that could help with some police calls. Councilor Zack Cruze has cited savings reported by cities like Huntington and has supported the effort in the past.
“Some type of social worker or street outreach person to either assist us with some kind of crisis response or to assist with the homeless population,” Muzzarelli said.
Mayor Ron Dulaney has worked on the homeless issue and has long called for some type of solution to help the homeless and improve conditions in downtown.
“I know that councilor Cruze has been a strong advocate for that and the city manager has been very supportive,” Dulaney said,” So, thank you, I’m looking forward to being able to provide those services that maybe we haven’t been able to provide so far on calls.”
Amid the pandemic uncertainty, council agreed to cut $3.1 million from the budget in May when tax revenues plummeted. Dulaney acknowledged the uncertainty is not over, but they are positioned to handle the potential budget crisis.
“One of our primary concerns and priorities was not being in a position where we had to lay employees off,” Dulaney said,” I think that’s been what we’ve been most mindful of, and fortunately we haven’t, in fact now we’re able to offer this modest cost of living adjustment.”