Breaking News
Local News

Parkersburg City Council wraps budget hearings

One amendment approved during final session

By Evan Bevins 4 min read

PARKERSBURG -- Parkersburg City Council approved just one amendment Thursday to the proposed 2021-22 municipal budget.

During the last of three hearings on the $38.2 million spending plan Thursday, council voted 8-1 to move $2,500 from a contribution to House to Home, the day shelter for homeless individuals, to the Wood County Recreation Commission, earmarked for the 2022 Parkersburg Fishing Derby.

"That's a testament to (Finance Director) Eric (Jiles) and all the department heads for their due diligence," Mayor Tom Joyce said. "I think that means that the lion's share of folks on council trust what we're doing."

Councilman J.R. Carpenter, who voted against the amendment, saw it differently.

"It was very clear this was an expressway budget hearing," he said. "We found $2,500 out of ($38) million … and we took it away from a homeless shelter."

Carpenter pointed out that council listed dealing with homelessness as its top priority during a January workshop.

Council President Zach Stanley, who made the motion, said he has nothing against House to Home but noted the budget includes $49,000 to support the West Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness.

"We're allocating money already to help with that," Stanley said. Events like the fishing derby are important, he said, because "if our youth are making memories here, they're more inclined to stay here."

Joyce said the contribution would cover most of the cost of stocking the City and Southwood Park ponds, allowing the organizers of the derby to focus on donations for prizes.

Carpenter proposed four amendments, three of which reallocated money to a line item for sidewalk improvements. Although that line item, which Joyce said focuses on new sidewalk construction, was empty, Jiles noted $70,000 is allocated for a program in which property owners pay for materials and the city pays for the labor to improve sidewalks.

First, Carpenter made a motion to move $36,462 for a new neighborhood planning coordinator job in the Development Department. Councilwoman Wendy Tuck earlier proposed earmarking that money for completion of the city's multi-use trail, before Joyce said the estimated funding was already budgeted.

Joyce said the position's first responsibility would be coordinating and expediting the demolition of dilapidated properties.

"My intent … is to tear down 100 houses in a year," he said. "There is a lot of slum and blight that needs to be cleared."

The amendment failed in an 8-1 vote, with only Carpenter supporting it. An amendment to move $20,000 for an SUV for the Development Department to sidewalks failed 7-2,with Carpenter and Tuck voting for it.

The budget includes a 2 percent raise for all employees except elected officials. Carpenter made a motion to eliminate that raise for the development, finance, personnel and public works directors and police and fire chiefs and move that $9,096 to sidewalks.

Joyce said exempting department heads from raises causes their salaries to lag and leads to large increases all at once.

"I don't want to get in the habit of excluding department heads because they make more money than everybody else," Joyce said. "It penalizes them for being really good at their craft."

Carpenter changed his motion to divide the money among hourly workers, but it died for lack of a second.

Council voted 7-2, with Carpenter and Tuck opposed, to accept its report as the Committee of the Whole and adopt the budget.

After the meeting, Carpenter said he had other amendments he wanted to suggest, but decided against it after his initial ones were rejected.

"When it comes time for amendments, anyone's allowed to make an amendment," Stanley said. "If someone doesn't like your amendment, they're going to vote no."

Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.

Starting at /week.