CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Charleston Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin presented her proposed $113 million budget Monday evening at a Charleston Finance Committee meeting.
Amy Shuler Goodwin
Goodwin, who appeared on “580” Live with Dave Allen Monday morning, laid out what she thought were the top priorities for the year.
“What it has in there is our priorities. It’s safety, health and wellness and infrastructure,” Goodwin said.
Goodwin also says she wants to invest in the factors that make Charleston vibrant.
“We’re investing in our infrastructure, investing in our employees, investing in the roads that you travel on,” Goodwin said.
Speaking further on the roads Charleston residents and commuters are traveling, Goodwin said she was proposing a $3-million dollar paving budget for the sixth year in a row.
“It’s no secret that we had a very difficult winter, and there are people that are calling in and saying, there’s a pothole here, or I need you to pave this road,” Goodwin said. “The roads this year took a beating and while we really feel like we’re trying to get ahead on our paving, when you have a season like that with salting and scraping, you’re going to have a lot of potholes. We’re trying to get there as fast as we can with hole patching. Some roads will just need that, but some roads will need to be completely paved this year.”
Goodwin also says her proposed budget will include raising the pay of some of the lowest compensated workers in the city to $15 an hour to keep up with inflation.
“Something that I started just a couple of years ago was getting our wages of our employees who make the least up to that $15 mark,” Goodwin said. “I am extremely proud, for the third year in a row, we’ve made that jump to get them there.”
Goodwin’s proposed budget also does not include any tax, or fee increases for Charleston citizens.
Council will be able to discuss the proposal for the next several weeks before the final approval comes later in the spring.
The budget will go into effect on July 1.