WVML Press
The Joint Committee on Government Organization Subcommittee C met during August Interims to discuss the Municipal Home Rule Pilot Project.
Lisa Dooley, Executive Director of WVML, addressed the committee briefly and discussed the successful laws which have resulted from the Home Rule Pilot.
Mayor Andy McKenzie and City Manager Bob Herron of Wheeling also addressed the committee and responded to questions. Mayor McKenzie discussed how helpful home rule was when changing the laws for applying for a business license within Wheeling and stated that the process has been streamlined and became more cost efficient and business-friendly.
The mayors from West Virginia's cities and towns seemed in unusually high spirits.
Perhaps it was the air at the mountaintop Snowshoe Resort in Pocahontas County where they had gathered for the West Virginia Municipal League summer meeting.
Or it could have been the sweet guitar serenade by House Speaker Rick Thompson during the Wednesday night mixer around a roaring bonfire.
But maybe it was the fact that cell service is so spotty at Snowshoe that the mayors were, for a few hours at least, not directly connected to the myriad problems they face in their communities.
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