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PARKERSBURG — At its first regular meeting of the year Tuesday, Parkersburg City Council will consider the final reading of an ordinance approving a sanitation contract with Waste Management and a resolution authorizing a renewal vote on the Mid-Ohio Valley Transit Authority.

Council President Andrew Borkowski will also announce council committee memberships for 2026 during the meeting, set for 7:30 p.m. in council chambers on the second floor of the Municipal Building.

Council voted 6-3 during a special meeting on Jan. 6 to approve the first reading of an ordinance for the contract negotiated by the administration with Waste Management to take over solid waste collection from the city.

Recycling would be a separate service, and council unanimously voted to table an ordinance regarding that proposed contract with Rumpke.

The special meeting followed a more-than-90-minute session where 21 people spoke about sanitation and the proposed contracts. Most were opposed to contracting the services out, and some asked the city to either continue with its service or consider a proposal for sanitation and recycling by Rumpke.

Under the contract, Waste Management would charge the city $17.65 per residential unit for the first two years of the contract, rising to $18.89 in the third, $20.21 in the fourth and $21.62 in the fifth. Mayor Tom Joyce has proposed reducing the municipal sanitation fee for residents from $22 a month to $19.50 and providing those current on their bill a $44 credit in recognition of sanitation collection issues over the last year, although that would require separate legislation.

The city’s fee is higher than the per-unit cost because the city will continue to handle billing and other duties, Finance Director Eric Jiles said. During Tuesday’s meeting, resident Sherry West asked why customers couldn’t just deal directly with the haulers.

Joyce later said the city will maintain billing and pay the vendor itself to ensure garbage is picked up, even if customers have not paid. If the company is paid by customers directly, those who do not keep up with their bills would not have trash picked up, he said.

“That’s where I think it’s important that we keep it in-house,” Joyce said.

The city would pursue delinquent fees and would also bill property owners if excess trash is removed by Waste Management, Jiles said.

The city will also assess requests for curb exemptions, which allow people to not place their can at the curb. Existing curb exemptions will be honored, Jiles said.

Some speakers expressed concerns about being able to move the 96-gallon containers Waste Management is requiring customers to use.

Parkersburg resident Barbara Radiker said she usually only has one bag of trash per week and asked if she could put that out instead of the large cart. A Waste Management representative said they prefer the carts but she “won’t be penalized for that.”

Joyce noted the city’s ordinances require waste to be bagged and in cans but said it has been “a severely unenforced part of our ordinance.”

Radiker and other speakers praised the work of the city’s sanitation employees. Joyce said there are only five left in the department and that incentives and pay increases offered over the years did not draw more qualified workers.

The contract says Waste Management will charge $3 per bag of additional waste not in the cart. The company would also dispose of two bulk items per month on specific weeks of the month, depending on the location of the residence. Additional bulk items can be picked up for an additional charge.

Councilman Chris Rexroad asked if the company would use the same routes as city sanitation. A Waste Management representative said they have routing methods they would use to optimize the routes and noted they have multiple employees who worked for or live in the city.

Also on the agenda is a resolution authorizing the placement on the May 12 primary ballot of a renewal of the levy funding the Mid-Ohio Valley Transit Authority.

No increase is proposed. If renewed, the levy would continue to raise the city’s $2,581,238 share of the levy, with Vienna residents providing, if they approve their own renewal, the remaining $1,025,485.84 to support bus service.

Borkowski will also announce membership and chairmanship of council’s three major committees — Finance, Personnel and Public Works — as well as the Urban Renewal Authority chair and vice chair and other appointments.

Council also has a hearing scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday in its chambers related to an appeal filed by Ari Gold regarding the status of his application for a business license.

Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com