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WEIRTON -- Weirton municipal officials are reminding businesses in the city about the recently implemented increase to the Municipal Service Fee.
Given final approval by City Council by a 6-1 vote April 13, the increase now requires any business operating in the city to withhold $5 per week from the pay of each employee.
Finance Director Diana Smoljanovich, noting the change was set to take effect May 17 -- 30 days following the ordinance’s passage -- said Friday it appears not everyone has followed the adjustment.
"We should have seen an additional $160,000," she said of the fee’s collections during the last few months.
The Municipal Service Fee was established in 2004 through Ordinance 1417 to generate revenue for "public works, street department functions, street maintenance, capital projects and public health and safety." At the time, officials said funds -- initially set for a collection of $2 per week from employees -- were intended to assist with street paving.
This year’s increase was made in an effort to cover the costs of hiring six new firefighters for the city.
Smoljanovich said staff in the city’s Finance Department have been reaching out to various businesses to remind them of the fee increase and make sure they are in compliance with the ordinance, which also stipulates that if an individual works multiple jobs, they only need to be assessed the fee on one paycheck.
Information on when the fee was to be implemented was sent to businesses shortly after the ordinance’s passage, she said.
"It clearly states on the return," Smoljanovich said.
City Manager Mike Adams said it also could be an issue with digital software used to handle payroll.
"A lot of them are automated," Adams said, noting it’s possible some businesses haven’t updated their payroll withholdings. "That’s the important piece to the puzzle. People are slow to change."
Ward 4 Councilman Rick Stead, speaking during a report offered at Friday’s city Finance Committee meeting, asked if there were any options available to the city to enforce the collections. Adams indicated that, for now, the plan is to reach out to businesses and see what can be done.
"We’d rather just collect the money and not have to chase them," he said.
Smoljanovich agreed, saying they will see how collections go over the current quarter and consider an educational campaign to remind businesses in the city, if needed.