By Stephen Smoot
The City may soon ask drivers to slow down a little more on local side streets if a proposed ordinance passes the Council.
“We’ve had some people come in and talk about lowering some speed limits,” said Mayor Patrick Kovalck. He shared that some had also voiced concerns to Council member Mary Ann Ferris.
The limits could be lowered on some area streets, he said, then added that there have been “mixed reviews so far on it.”
The ordinance will be given its first reading on the Dec 9 Council meeting. It will receive a second reading at the subsequent meeting, be subject to public comment, and then go up for final passage by the Council.
The City also submitted the proposal to the West Virginia Home Rule Board.
Shinnston received home rule status just over a decade ago. The program started with four cities in a pilot program, Charleston, Huntington, Wheeling, and Bridgeport. Shinnston joined 15 others as the first “class” of recipients after the initial pilot proved successful.
Two of the others who received it at the same time as Shinnston were Clarksburg and Fairmont.
According to the West Virginia Municipal League, “home rule allows municipalities – including the smallest towns with populations under 2,000 – greater self-determination within the limits of state law.” Home rule communities in West Virginia currently number 34 with more exploring the status.
Home rule provides the flexibility, for example, to set speed limits in ways that reflect the safety concerns of the population.
Each city that participates in the program must pay a $2,000 annual fee. That, however, is dwarfed by the municipal sales tax receipts approved in 2019 that brings approximately $350,000 per year to City government. Kovalck noted that “has really helped us out.”
In general, it also gives participating cities more latitude to make decisions on their own. Kovalck cited an example from recent Shinnston history. The Shinnston Public Works Department had, as the Mayor described, five or six “vehicles that were worn out and no longer safe to use.”
The usual procedure would be to hold the vehicles back until an auction would be profitable to hold. Home rule allowed the City to sell them as needed.
Kovalck explained that while home rule does permit participating cities to get around or work through established regulations more easily, he stated that “safeguards” are sometimes necessary to prevent costly mistakes or even fraud.