City says special fee would not violate municipal home rule
By ALEX MEYER, The Intelligencer of Wheeling
WHEELING — As Wheeling City Council floated enacting a user fee at its meeting Tuesday, it heard from residents both for and against the measure intended to fund a proposed $14.5 million public safety building.
Council heard the first reading of an ordinance to adopt the weekly $2 fee and could vote on the matter at its next meeting Aug. 20. Members fielded questions, complaints and endorsements from several residents regarding the fee and public safety building.
The user fee, also dubbed a city service fee, would apply to all full-time, part-time and self-employed workers who work in Wheeling for at least 30 days per year. The ordinance under consideration was modeled after a similar one enacted in Charleston, Mayor Glenn Elliott said.
City Manager Robert Herron explained the legality of the user fee after Councilman Dave Palmer said he had been questioned as to whether the ordinance would violate home rule. …
