Parkersburg City Clerk Connie Shaffer, center, looks over a box of petitions delivered to her office by Parkersburg residents LaDonna Reid, left, and Karen Riel on Feb. 27. (File photo)

PARKERSBURG – An ordinance authorizing a sanitation contract with a private hauler is not subject to the referendum process in Parkersburg’s charter, City Attorney Blaine Myers said today in a written memorandum.

“This Charter provision clearly excludes from the referendum process ordinances regarding the budget or relating to the appropriation of money,” the memo says.

Parkersburg City Council voted 6-3 to approve the contract with Waste Management on final reading on Jan. 13. Residents opposed to the move away from the city’s sanitation department began collecting signatures for a referendum petition that, if successful, would force council to reconsider the ordinance and, if it was not repealed, put the question before voters at an upcoming election.

Organizers turned in more than 3,000 signatures for verification, exceeding the required threshold of 2,763.

But in a memo provided today to City Clerk Connie Shaffer, who under municipal charter provisions is charged with certifying petitions, Myers said that in his opinion this ordinance is not subject to referendum because it relates to the appropriation of funds.

“The ordinance approving the contract with Waste Management involves appropriation of $14,979,120 over a period of (five) years as payment to an independent contractor for the providing of collection of solid waste from residential customers, which is an essential service to be provided by the City for the public health, safety and welfare of its residents,” it says.

Read more in Friday’s edition.