ELKINS — Elkins City Council will only be meeting once in April to finalize the city’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 General Funding Budget, go over the FY 2026 Landfill and Sanitation budgets, discuss an update with the takeover of Whitmer Water and more.

City Council will meet Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Phil Gainer Community Center. Elkins City Clerk Sutton Stokes said that, although the council usually meets every first and third Thursday of the month, they are meeting on April 15 “to comply with the state requirement to meet on the ‘third Tuesday in April’ to ‘lay the levy.'”

“Laying the levy” refers to finalizing Elkins’ FY 2026 General Funding Budget, which City Council approved during their March 20 meeting. The FY 2026 budget has expenditures and revenues for the city balanced at $6,591,312. This balance is a 5% increase of $321,519 over the FY 2025 budget of $6,266,793.

“I’m just going to thank the admin officers for their hard work,” Elkins Mayor Jerry Marco said during the March 20 meeting before council voted to approve the budget. “They knock it out every year. I don’t know how many times you guys (the administrative officers) have met, but like I said, you’ve been very diligent about it.”

Council will also be discussing a resolution of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in regard to the funding they allocated for a new warming station.

The “warming station” is a new addition to the proposed funding for partner and community organizations list this year. Stokes said the station is a “community coalition organized to provide a warming station in the Elkins area, when temperatures dip below 20 degrees Fahrenheit.” The station has been allocated their requested $1,000 in funding for FY 2026.

The FY 2026 Landfill Budget and the FY 2026 Sanitation Budget will be up for approval during Tuesday’s meeting as well. Per West Virginia state law, revenues and expenditures for the city’s water and sewer utilities must be managed and accounted for entirely separately from the General Fund, as none of those revenues, such as sales tax, may be used for costs of the Water or Sanitary Funds, and vice versa.

Council will also vote on the appointment of election officials for the upcoming June 10 Municipal Election.

Five of the 10 City Council seats are up for election this year, including the First Ward seat held by Rob Chenoweth, the Second Ward seat held by Lisa Severino, the Third Ward seat held by Erika Plishka, the Fourth Ward seat held by Nanci Bross-Fregonara and the Fifth Ward seat held by Dave Parker. 

City Council members serve four-year terms. All of the five council members have filed for re-election. Council members Fregonara and Parker are the only incumbent candidates facing opposition.

The council will also hear an update on the matter of the City of Elkins being ordered by the Public Service Commission to take over the distressed Whitmer water utilities.

The order was placed in 2023 and was an unwanted acquisition that, Marco said, has lost the City of Elkins around $6,000 a month. While Elkins now operates the Whitmer water utility, they do not own it. 

During the March 20 meeting, Marco told the council that he has had several conversations with members of the PSC, including the Chair, including a meeting the PSC requested on March 19. Marco called the March 19 meeting “productive” and “great.” Marco said the PSC admitted that the current law that involves distressed utilities as it stands is flawed and is willing to work with them to change parts of the law.

According to the April 15 meeting agenda released by the city, the council will also address:

Resolution 1826: Grant acceptance on behalf of Elkins Tree Board

Resolution 1827: Creation of HR Generalist Position

Resolution 1828: Shifting HR Department under Council in City organizational chart

Resolution 1829: Endorsement of HR Department Strategic Plan

Resolution 1830: Contract for assistance with DEP Landfill Permit, with Sam & Sharon Enterprises, LLC and the City of Elkins, and Authorizing Execution of Agreement

Resolution 1833: Authorization of change order for City Hall HVAC project