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City employee raise not dead issue in Parkersburg

PARKERSBURG — The rejection of a resolution by Parkersburg City Council for a 5 percent raise does not mean there will be no pay increase for municipal employees this year.

Legislation to fund the raises for all city workers except elected officials and appointed department heads failed 6-3 Tuesday following a 5-4 defeat of an amendment to reduce the increase to 2.5 percent. Councilmen J.R. Carpenter, Mike Reynolds and Councilwoman Kim Coram proposed earmarking $120,000 of the difference for drug abuse prevention and awareness programs after numerous people asked council to direct some of the money toward the drug problem.

The first readings of ordinances authorizing the raises and establishing two new positions were unanimously referred back to council’s Finance Committee for further discussion.

Mayor Jimmy Colombo said he respects the opinions expressed during Tuesday’s meeting and wants to do what he can to help increase treatment options, however, he still feels a pay increase is warranted, even if it’s not as high as he proposed.

“I would be able to consider what council thinks they can live with,” Colombo said Wednesday. “Last night, we sort of put our employees in the back row.”

He said there was a lot of pressure Tuesday for immediate action on the drug abuse issue, but more information is needed before money can be allocated.

Even more than the raise, Colombo said his most pressing concern is the ordinance adding two positions — a dedicated executive administrative assistant for the mayor and an assistant information technology technician to relieve the day-to-day maintenance burden on the IT director.

The mayor’s executive assistant, Kim Gant, splits time with his office, the city attorney’s office and the Personnel Department. But she’s retiring next week.

One of the ordinances sent to finance would have created the two new positions, along with a third job, personnel/legal specialist, essentially taking the place of Gant’s current job.

“That’s the position that would have to be hired,” Colombo said. If it’s empty, “that basically shuts down the legal department on our floor.”

With a little over two months left in his term, Colombo said he did not plan to fill the position of mayor’s assistant, leaving that up to his successor. The assistant provides needed information, handles the mayor’s schedule and answers phones for the office, among other duties.

Whether Democrat Sherry Dugan or Republican Tom Joyce is elected, the new mayor needs someone in that job, Colombo said.

“I really think that any of those two people, if they don’t have a secretary when they come in there, they might as well go jump in the Ohio River,” he said Tuesday.

During the meeting, Carpenter said Gant also was a liaison to the Downtown Farmers’ Market for nearly two years and said he failed to see why another position was needed. He suggested moving on to at least address the IT technician, but Coram and Councilman Warren Bigley argued it made no sense when the position wasn’t funded.

Council President John Rockhold said no finance committee has yet to be scheduled. He anticipates a meeting before the next council meeting.

Committee meetings are usually, but not always, held prior to full council meetings. The next council meeting has been pushed back to Nov. 15 because the regular meeting falls on Election Day.

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