PARKERSBURG — Tuesday’s Parkersburg City Council meeting will convene at 7:30 p.m., but future sessions might begin earlier.

A resolution on the upcoming agenda would move the starting time to 6 p.m. The change was proposed by Council President Mike Reynolds, who sponsored it along with five other members.

The current start time leaves a gap between when most people get off work and the meeting that doesn’t allow participants to do much else, Reynolds said. The proposed change would cut that out while allowing more time in the evening after the meeting, he said.

“The majority of people I’ve talked to, they like the idea of getting out of there earlier,” Reynolds said, referring to other council members.

In recent years, council committee and Urban Renewal Authority meetings have often been held on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month, prior to council meetings. Occasionally, Reynolds said, the impending start of the council meeting hasn’t left enough time for some items from being considered during those sessions.

“We can always have committee meetings after council,” he said.

Councilman Jeff Fox said he declined to sponsor the resolution because the current starting time gives citizens time to get off work, get cleaned up if they need to and grab a bite to eat before coming to the meeting.

“The way I look at it, that meeting’s for the people,” he said. “That’s our city government, and there’s a reason why it’s been at 7:30” for many years.

Also on Tuesday’s agenda are a pair of ordinances codifying firefighter pay increases already funded in the 2019-20 budget.

On final reading is an ordinance granting a 75-cents-an-hour raise to everyone with the firefighter first class designation, which includes all but six members of the department. It also increases the incentive for earning the EMT designation from 37 cents to 50 cents an hour.

On first reading is an ordinance giving a 25-cents-an-hour raise to all firefighters, including the six who have not completed their three-year apprenticeship and obtained the first class designation. Employees of the department who work a 40-hour week, rather than the standard 54-hour schedule for most firefighters, would receive a 34-cents-an-hour raise. Both work out to an additional $702 a year.

A resolution on the agenda would fund a pay increase for the city surveyor above the 3.2 percent hike most employees will receive in the new fiscal year starting July 1. If approved, Finance Director Eric Jiles said $4,329 will be transferred from parks and recreation to engineering to cover the additional increase and accompanying benefits. The total raise would be $5,000 a year.

Two resolutions on the agenda deal with the city’s Community Development Block Grant funds. The first would approve the proposed budget for those federal funds and the HOME Consortium, which the city administers on behalf of the county. The second would reallocate $20,000 originally intended for the YMCA of Parkersburg’s child care program to instead support scholarships for the Y’s summer camp and after-school programs.

The YMCA Discovery Academy at St. Joseph’s Landing closed last year after mold was discovered. The organization plans to begin offering child care for 2-4-year-olds again later this year.

Also on Tuesday’s agenda are:

* The final reading of an ordinance reducing the municipal fire fee by 5 percent.

* The final reading of an ordinance prohibiting unsightly or unsafe storage of items like household appliances, indoor furniture, household furnishings, auto parts and shopping carts in yards, unenclosed porches, open garages or carports.

* Two ordinances on final reading to amend portions of city code to match language approved on final reading at the May 28 meeting related to stormwater and landscaping requirements for off-street parking on new lots and those undergoing substantial changes.

* The final reading of an ordinance rezoning property at 2611 21st Ave. from residential to business to accommodate a day care center.