The business portion of the July 28 Bridgeport City Council meeting will begin with the swearing in of Bridgeport Fire Department Lt. Keith Linger.

 

“Lt. Linger has been officially serving in that capacity for about the last month,” said Bridgeport Fire Captain Phil Hart.

 

Hart explained that Linger was eligible for the promotion after serving the department for two years and scoring favorably on testing through the Civil Service Commission.

 

“Whenever a vacancy occurs or a position is created, those who are eligible test and whoever gets the top score gets the promotion,” Hart said.

 

Four eligible fire fighters tested for the promotion, which was left vacant when Lt. Josh Keough recently left the department to work for Clarksburg Fire Department.

 

The next item of business involves the first reading of an ordinance amending, enacting and reenacting section 737 of the Bridgeport City Code.

 

“This is an update to our various economic development incentives we offer at the city,” said Community Development Director Randy Spellman. “We took our current regulations to the Bridgeport Development Authority for review.  After discussions with the BDA, there were several amendments suggested to make the incentives current with today’s business practice and to make them more in line with the goals set forth by the BDA to entice new development to the city.”

 

Next on the agenda is the authorization of City Engineer Tom Brown as a voting delegate at the 29^th Annual Business Meeting of the West Virginia Rural Water Association to be held Sept. 6-10 at Snowshoe Mountain Resort, with Superintendent of Utilities Jared Cummons as the alternate delegate.

 

The City of Bridgeport is a voting member of the WVWRA, an organization which focuses on the promotion of safe drinking water throughout West Virginia and therefore Bridgeport’s voting delegate provides a voice in shaping policies and direction of the association, Brown explained.

 

“The Association provides a forum for voicing concerns to our legislature regarding water related issues,” he said. “Additionally, WVRWA provides training and paid staff to assist with problems systems may have and/or help within emergency situations.”

 

Before the meeting adjourns, Council will vote upon any pertinent budget revisions and/or authorizations. Included are the first budget revisions of the new fiscal year for both the general and capital reserve funds.

 

General Fund Budget Revision No. 1 is to appropriate the 2013-2014 fiscal year fund balance, said Finance Director Monica Musgrave.

 

“Off of the top $120,844 - or 10 percent of the fund balance - is appropriated to the rainy day fund,” she said. “The balance of the funds $1,087,599 will be appropriated as was discussed with Council in the work session on July 14, 2014.”

 

The revision will fund various capital items and projects that were not funded during the budget process when the original 2014-2015 fiscal year budget was approved, Musgrave said.

 

Capital Reserve Fund Budget Revision No. 1 is to appropriate the balance of hotel/motel tax from fiscal year 2013-2014, which must be appropriated for park development, she further explained.  Those funds are being appropriated to replace the flood wall at Bridgeport City Pool – a cost of $150,000 – and to begin construction of a trail around Deegan Lake.

 

Read coverage of Monday night’s meeting for more details. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. and takes place at Council Chambers inside Bridgeport Municipal Building. Members of the public are encouraged to attend.