A $2 weekly user fee. Water and sewer rates increasing. Power rates that have increased about 50%, on average, over the past two decades.

The cost of living in Wheeling, while still much lower than many other parts of West Virginia and across the nation, is now on the rise. And if the city, Ohio County and the surrounding region can’t find a way to attract new residents here — and soon — that burden only will increase and lead to additional issues for residents.

A shrinking population, quite simply, leads to fewer residents shouldering more of the burden for essential government services. And when you consider where Wheeling and this region have been, and the fact the city’s physical size and infrastructure have not changed while fewer people are here now paying into the system, it’s cle

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