By Stephen Smoot
One of the stated goals of the Franklin Town Council in 2026 was to work to be more transparent with the public. This included efforts to find multiple ways to keep citizens informed of meetings and the workings of town government. This effort has been spearheaded by Keely Smith, council members, and other officials.
As part of that ongoing effort, the town council held a special meeting to allow citizens to provide input on how to use revenues from the one percent town sales tax. It was attended by John and Michelle Connor who own a business in town, but live outside its limits.
Frank Wehrle, town administrator, shared that Franklin had received its first check from the sales tax, reflecting collections in the first quarter of the year. This came to just under $26,000. Sales taxes are collected by the West Virginia State Tax Office, which sorts out how much each gets and sends out checks.
It was generally agreed that the sales tax revenues should not go toward salaries or new employees. Smith said, “It’s important to say this won’t go to full time employee salaries.”
Mayor Bob Horan and council also agreed that a certain percentage of each revenue check should go into what some called a “rainy day” and others referred to as a “contingency” fund. This led to proposals of different categories of percentages to be generally applied, yet not completely carved in stone should a financial emergency occur.
While a number of ideas were discussed, mayor and council chose to table the discussion of percentages until the next meeting. At that point, draft ideas could be discussed and then voted upon.
From that discussion, elected officials’ ideas on best uses of the money centered on infrastructure that is not water and sewer, since those are in a different category. Mayor, council, and Wehrle went over the different merits of using funds for short term fixes versus saving up over time to tackle larger projects. Specifically, they discussed major needs on Dogwood Road, South Branch, and Cherry streets.
Other ideas included using a codified set of percentages as a basis to negotiate payment plans for major projects, such as paving streets. Wehrle shared a quote for the milling and paving of South Branch Street, which was $235,000 and added “that’s pretty cheap.” He also listed specific areas of “dire need” of patching.
Discussion also centered around a certain percentage set aside for recreation and other needs.
Michelle Connor countered the ideas discussed by council, sharing that the public might appreciate an initial project that would create “high impact,” and suggested that a project to enhance the park could fit the bill.
“Residents benefit from the park. Visitors benefit from the park,” she noted, then added that it will show that the money collected from the taxpayers is benefiting them.
She added that using funds to contract out grant writing to experts could help bring in added revenues. Connor stated that she has written grants for the town gratis in the past and would continue to do so as a free service regardless.
Russ Sasso, council member, agreed that Connor’s idea of making a public gesture should be part of the general consideration, saying he would like to work into the category framework ideas that would “produce that flash.”
Council agreed that they would work on the specifics of fund use and return with an actionable item by the next meeting.
