West Virginia State Senator Mike Azinger, R-Wood, speaks at an Aug. 30 rally at Bicentennial Park in downtown Parkersburg to call on the governor and state lawmakers to call a special session of the state legislature to vote against mandates being implemented anywhere in the state. (File Photo)

PARKERSBURG — A Wood County commissioner this week said raises for some health department workers whose pay is determined by the state might not get the support of legislators who disagree with the department’s stance on masking.

Commission President Blair Couch made the remarks Thursday while discussing difficulties the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department has in retaining workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A member of the department’s Board of Health, Couch said the department can pay some temporary workers more than permanent employees because the permanent workers’ salaries are set by the West Virginia Division of Personnel.

Because those permanent workers are not considered state employees, they were not affected by the last across-the-board raises state workers received, said Carrie Brainard, threat preparedness coordinator for the MOVHD. Although the local Board of Health can vote to give raises, they must be approved by the Division of Personnel.

Couch said he planned to ask local lawmakers for help but predicted “we’ll run into a brick wall” because of a recommendation from Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department Health Officer Dr. Charles Whitaker III that students wear masks in school.

“(Sen. Mike) Azinger and (Del. Roger) Conley will be against it because of the way they decided to back public health at the schools,” he said. “And they’ll make the case managers, the nurses, everybody else suffer because Dr. Whitaker believes in what he believes in.”

Azinger and Conley spoke at an Aug. 30 rally in downtown Parkersburg against mask and vaccine mandates.

Azinger, R-Wood, said Friday he doesn’t think the Legislature would rule out such pay raises but acknowledged he has reservations.

“It does make it less palatable for me personally when the Health Department is recommending these onerous mask regulations,” he said.

Conley, R-Wood, said he thinks front-line workers need to be taken care of and that would be a better use of state money than cash and prize incentives to get people vaccinated, referring to Gov. Jim Justice’s Do it for Babydog sweepstakes.

“Commissioner Couch ought to pick up the phone and discuss that with me and with Sen. Azinger before he makes an assumption,” Conley said.

Whitaker noted he didn’t issue any orders on masking.

“I gave my recommendation that I think masks will help keep kids in school, because I think in-school education is important,” he said. “We did not issue orders. It’s my opinion as health officer. It’s not a board action.”

Taking recommendations and determining what is best for education, extracurricular activities, the mental health of students and the overall health of students and staff is up to county boards of education, Whitaker said.

“And it should be,” he said.

All six counties covered by the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department — Calhoun, Pleasants, Ritchie, Roane, Wirt and Wood — now require masks to be worn indoors at school, at least when counties are labeled orange or red, the two highest categories of virus spread on the state’s County Alert System.

Conley said he has no issues with recommendations from health officials.

“A recommendation is different from a mandate,” he said. “A recommendation gives you a choice.”

Conley and Azinger both said masking children should be a decision left to parents.

During Thursday’s Wood County Commission meeting, Couch also said he didn’t care for legislators questioning the decisions of Health Department officials or threatening to remove their funding. He did not reference a specific lawmaker in that regard.

“We really don’t appreciate when other elected officials that serve in Charleston call and question the Health Department,” he said.

Conley said he’s never called the Health Department.

Azinger said he had “a conversation that was serious but very congenial” with Whitaker and MOVHD Executive Director Eric Walker. He said they have a “profound disagreement” about mask orders and their effectiveness, but he likes and respects both men.

“Mr. Couch may not like that, but this senator sees it as his duty to put the Health Departments in check, because they’re not elected by the people,” Azinger said.

Azinger said he’s never threatened a health department’s funding if they didn’t do something his way and he can’t imagine a legislator doing so, unless it was in an extreme circumstance.

Whitaker said he’s not had any complaints made to him.

“I’ve had discussions with people, and some of them have ended with us agreeing to disagree,” he said.

Brainard said the department welcomes questions and concerns from elected officials.

“They may not always agree with our processes, but we get our guidance and direction from the CDC and the West Virginia State Bureau for Public Health,” she said. “Decisions regarding COVID are based on the protocols and guidance we receive from these agencies.”

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