Beech Tree News Network

In a special called meeting on June 20, the Morgantown City Council approved the second reading of the 2022-2023 fiscal year budget for the city of Morgantown. The annual operating budget began on July 1, 2022 and will remain in use through June 30, 2023. Money is allocated for the budget through eight funds. Those are general, park, street, LGEA (Local Government Economic Assistance), IHC (Industrial Holdings Corporation), fire, tourism commission, and cemetery. According to the budget document, the general fund is the “largest of all the city’s funds” and expenses paid from this fund include police, street, park, cemetery, code enforcement, and more. Some, like the street and park funds only receive some funds from the general fund, as they are able to generate some funding on their own, as well. The budget outlines city demographics and other statistics as well as projects and goals for the 2022-2023 fiscal year. Some of these goals include updating and digitizing all cemetery records, a downtown concert series for the fall, updating and digitizing zoning maps, implementing a crime stoppers program, and adding a trail town sign on I-165. 

The City of Morgantown’s major revenue sources are property, occupational, insurance premium, and restaurant taxes, with the occupational tax consistently generating the most revenue at 63%. 

Most notable in the budget are a new fire station, the continued park renovation-including new playground equipment, a pocket park, and a river park.  Officials with the city have applied for a grant to be used to build a new fire station, with a police station to eventually be added on. City funds will be used to match this grant, if received. The estimated cost is $750,000. $250,000 has been budgeted for the completion of a pocket park on the square, in the location that was formally Reeta’s Apartments. The Charles Black City Park renovation continues with a budgeted amount of $1,000,000 for the 2022-2023 fiscal year. The projected completion of the park renovation is fall of this year. An additional $300,000 will be spent to secure a new playground set for the newly renovated facilities. Another park is in the works, at a budgeted cost of $275,000, to be constructed in the Morgantown Boat Ramp area. This will include a new dock, restrooms, and a large pavilion.