Parkersburg Mayor Tom Joyce, left, speaks during Tuesday’s City Council meeting as American Sign Language interpreter Ashley Kasara Adams conveys what is being said. (Photo by Amber Phipps)

PARKERSBURG — Mayor Tom Joyce said Wednesday there have been no formal steps taken toward privatizing the city’s sanitation service, nor is it included in the proposed budget he presented Tuesday to Parkersburg City Council.

But given that the city subsidized the sanitation fund with nearly $900,000 over the course of two fiscal years, “that is certainly something that should be explored.”

During Tuesday’s council meeting, Joyce submitted the 2025-26 budget, which includes a $4-a-month increase in sanitation fees. If approved, it’s projected to take the sanitation fund from a $160,000 deficit this year to a $100,000 surplus in the next.

That would also include a contribution to the capital reserve fund. Joyce said if it hadn’t been for approximately $500,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds used to purchase two packer trucks in recent years, the fee increase would have been needed sooner.

“Sanitation has not been pulling its own weight,” he said.

The purchase of this property at 4828 First Ave., Parkersburg, was recently approved by the Urban Renewal Authority. (Photo by Amber Phipps)

During the public forum at Tuesday’s council meeting, some speakers expressed concerns about the city possibly switching to a private waste hauler and again advocated for a pay increase for municipal sanitation workers.

“The reality is that our sanitation workers play a vital role in the maintenance of a civil society,” Parkersburg resident Marie Krinock said, then asked about delays in collecting trash and recycling.

The city temporarily suspended recycling earlier this year due to mechanical issues with all three of its recycling trucks. Joyce said pickup has resumed as equipment and personnel are available. There are approximately five vacancies in the department, and Joyce said workers receive overtime pay if they need to work longer to complete routes.

Joyce noted that many municipalities have contracted out for trash service.

“At some point, we probably need to see if that isn’t a better option,” he said.

Sanitation workers are included in an across-the-board 4.2% pay increase for municipal employees in the proposed budget.

Overall, the raises would add $375,000 to the budget, Joyce said. But that would be offset in part by savings on the city’s pension liabilities since closing the police and fire pension plans to new hires to change the payment method in 2017.

“We continue to realize gains with regard to our pension obligations,” Joyce said.

The net cost for the raises will be $221,000, he said.

The budget also reflects a $400,000 increase in Public Employee Insurance Agency premiums, with a portion of that cost passed along to employees.

Joyce said employees would pay between $1.78 and $7.39 more per paycheck depending on their plan and situation if the proposal is approved. That would cover about $42,000 of the increase.

It’s the first time passing costs on to the employees has been proposed since at least 2015, Joyce said.

Following Tuesday’s regular council meeting, members convened as the Urban Renewal Authority and approved the sale of a city-owned lot to neighboring property owners for $3,500.

The property at 4828 First Ave. consists of roughly 9,147.6 square feet of land. The property is categorized as early suburban single-family which allows for multi-story homes, sidewalks and garage spaces.

Applicants Jason and Nicole French said they planned to use it as a continuation of their backyard and could add a garage later.

The property was donated to the URA in October 2023. A structure on the property was demolished in December.

Council members were impressed by the Frenches’ efforts to clean up the property.

“I want to commend you guys for the way you got that property cleaned up,” said Councilman Dave McCrady. “You did a nice job cleaning that out.”

Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com

Amber Phipps can be reached at aphipps@newsandsentinel.comaphipps@newsandsentinel.com