Huntington Budget Proposal

To: Burnis Morris

From: Samantha Turley

Re: Story Outline: Major Story no. 5

Date: March 17, 2011

Subject: Huntington’s austere proposed FY 2011-2012 budget

Scope: I will research the 2012 budget and examine where cuts have taken place. Mayor Kim Wolfe said economic troubles for the city will continue into the 2012 fiscal year, and I will detail for readers how the economy has impacted the budget, what parts of the budget have been affected and how it will affect different major departments. I will compare Huntington’s budget to budgets in similar cities (such as size and location) to see if Huntington’s budget and budget cuts are comparable to those cities. In a sidebar, I will examine the budget allocation to the Huntington Police Department and how funding cuts will affect the department.

Need: Cuts to the city budget affect city services, including fire and police departments. The public needs to know where cuts are taking place and how it will affect them.

Methods: This story can be documented by a thorough analysis of the 2012 budget and a comparison to budgets from the three previous fiscal years. I can research it further by obtaining other city budgets from similar cities and comparing them to Huntington’s budget.

Sources: I already have the FY 2012 budget as proposed by Wolfe. I will obtain the city budgets from other city websites. I will obtain the budgets for the past three fiscal years from the City of Huntington’s website, and if it is not available online I will contact the city clerk for access. I will interview Wolfe and multiple city council members. If possible, I would also like to find a person who is an expert in city budget to get their viewpoint on the city budget for Huntington, how it compares to other cities and if they think it is a reasonable budget plan.

Presentation: This story can be presented as an overview of the city budget and budget cuts, a sidebar study examining the cuts to the Huntington Police Department in further detail and a follow-up story after the Huntington City Council finalizes the budget.

Follow-up: A follow-up can be written once the Huntington City Council finalizes the budget. In the follow-up, I will compare the FY 2012 budget as proposed by Wolfe with the budget finalized by the city council.