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PARKERSBURG – Organizers of a petition to repeal or send to the ballot an ordinance approving a city sanitation contract are seeking more information about why hundreds of signatures were deemed invalid, as well as more time to address the issue.

Petitioners submitted to the city on Feb. 27 a total of 2,953 signatures, according to a certification of the signatures from Wood County Clerk Joe Gonzales. The clerk’s office determined 2,091 signatures were valid and 862 were from “persons who were not found to be registered voters in the City of Parkersburg or had invalid signatures.”

That left the petition 672 short of the minimum 2,763 required, which is equal to 15% of the city’s registered voters in the 2024 election. Under the city charter, the petitioners have 10 days to cure the issue by obtaining the valid signatures needed.

“The Charter provides petitioners the right to amend an insufficient petition within a limited period,” says the motion, filed Tuesday by committee member LaDonna Reid. “That right cannot be meaningfully exercised when petitioners are denied access to the information necessary to understand why signatures were rejected.”

The motion asks the court to allow inspection of the records used in the verification process and ensure the committee has “a fair opportunity to exercise its amendment rights,” including preserving, pausing or extending the amendment period.

The city’s response, filed Wednesday by City Attorney Blaine Myers, calls the motion “totally without merit.”

“There are no provisions of the City Charter which provide or allow for the right of petitioners to challenge the verification process of signatures, nor are there any provisions to extend the period during which petitioners may file an amendment,” the response says.

It also notes the county clerk, not the city or city clerk, has access to voter registration information.

“The Petitioners do not have an independent right to ascertain the accuracy of the validation process, as this was performed independently by a (duly) elected public official who has lawful custody of access to voter records,” it says.

The city’s response says the petitioners have already provided notice of their intent to file an amended petition.

It also says any order compelling access to verification records should be directed to the county clerk’s office, noting it is not a party to the proceedings. The response adds that the process for the court to adjudicate whether 862 signatures were properly invalidated “would require an enormous amount of time to be expended” and “it is reasonable for one to conclude that it is unlikely the Court would overrule the independent judgment of an elected official who has sole access to voter registration information.”

Wood County Prosecutor Pat Lefebure, whose office generally acts as legal counsel for county offices, declined to comment Thursday, citing the ongoing litigation.

Petitioners began gathering signatures for a referendum after Parkersburg City Council in January voted 6-3 to approve two readings of an ordinance authorizing a contract with Waste Management to provide solid waste disposal services after decades of the city running its own sanitation department. City officials have cited difficulties hiring and retaining employees, while residents opposed to the move have said additional efforts and higher pay were warranted to maintain the service.

Petitioners were granted an extension of the signature-gathering period by Wood County Circuit Court Judge J.D. Beane after they requested it in light of frigid winter weather and the city did not object. However, Myers issued a memo earlier this month saying the ordinance in question was not subject to the referendum process outlined in the charter because it involves the appropriation of city funds. He said in the memo that the signature-verification process should continue.

Edward Escandon, a member of the petition committee, said the group continued to collect signatures even after turning the initial petitions in, “because we knew some would be invalidated.”

The group continues to collect signatures, with information on how to sign available on the Save PKB Sanitation Facebook page, he said. There is also usually someone collecting signatures at Das Rookhaus and Really Cheap Geeks, Escandon added.

Being unable to review the signatures that were declared invalid means people who signed don’t know if there was an issue that can be corrected or if they can sign again, Escandon said.

“The lack of transparency makes it impossible for us to ‘cure’ existing signatures in the traditional way,” he said.

In a statement Thursday afternoon, Mayor Tom Joyce reiterated Myers’ statement in the response that the city does not have access to the records petitioners are seeking, adding that various city offices have received calls asking for that documentation.

“As mayor, my intention and position remain unchanged, which is to get the resident citizens’ trash collected in a manner that is both effective and efficient,” he said. “I would not want to dismiss the sincerity of all persons who have signed the petition to oppose the contracting of this service, but I must again be clear that this referendum, if ultimately applicable and successful, would not restore the previously provided city-operated trash collection. (It) would only void the properly solicited, vetted, negotiated and approved contract and budgetary appropriation for trash collection to the residents of Parkersburg.”

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