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PARKERSBURG - The city's recycling surcharge would double to $3 for all customers under an ordinance on the agenda for Tuesday's Parkersburg City Council meeting.
The fee increase is one of multiple changes proposed in response to a Wood County Circuit Court judge's ruling that the city's new subscription-based recycling program does not comply with state code requiring cities with populations of more than 10,000 to implement a mandatory curbside recycling program.
Under the program approved by council earlier this year and implemented in May, all residents are charged a $1.50 recycling surcharge as part of their monthly sanitation fee. Those who wish to recycle pay an additional $3 a month for a 95-gallon recycling container, with a variety of materials picked up every other week by Rumpke Waste and Recycling.
But Judge J.D. Beane ruled in July that the subscription-based service does not follow state code because it makes participation voluntary.
Under the proposed ordinance, all residents, businesses and non-residential entities would be required to recycle at least three items, per state code. Rumpke collects more than the minimum three materials.
Commercial and nonresidential entities were not addressed in the municipal ordinance. According to a memo from City Attorney Blaine Myers to council members, these entities would be required to recycle, as mandated by state code, and would do so through their own service provider.
The separate $3 subscription fee would be eliminated, and all residential customers would pay $3 a month for recycling.
"The Court has held that requiring a separate subscription fee to those who desire to recycle does not comply with the state statute," Myers says in the memo. "Residents who recycle must obtain and use containers provided by our contractor, Rumpke, but there is now no additional cost imposed."
The actual cost of the recycling program to the city is based on the initial charge of $15.25 per month per recycling container, so the number of participants affects the overall charge.
There were approximately 1,400 residential customers signed up for recycling as of Friday, according to city Finance Director Eric Jiles. The memo says the proposed $3 fee is based on an additional 1,000 customers participating after the change is implemented.
"If the actual number significantly falls below that estimate, the revenue generated would exceed the actual cost," the memo says. "In that event, the proposed ordinance authorizes the Finance Director … to administratively credit or refund accounts in appropriate amounts."
If participation significantly exceeds the estimate, future rate increases may be required, but that would take action by council, the memo says.
The proposed ordinance also adds a penalty of up to $50 a month for any person or entity who violates the terms of the code, including engaging in "the mandatory source separation of at least three recyclable materials from other solid waste." The memo says Beane's decision noted the state statute says a municipality "shall include provisions to ensure compliance with the ordinance, including incentives and penalties."
At an Aug. 5 joint council committee meeting, Myers said he believed such a requirement would be "impossible to enforce.
"The only way … is to go through people's trash," he said. "You don't have to prove that you recycle. We have to prove that you don't."
Mayor Tom Joyce said Friday he finds the idea "not just impractical but ridiculous."
"My primary focus at this time is to maintain what has proven to be a comprehensive program that accepts all recyclable materials, which is good for the life of our local landfill, fairly priced and affordable," he said.
Joyce said he remains disappointed that all residents must be charged, even if they don't need or want to recycle.
"The cost is no longer a fee; it is a tax that is being imposed on our residents because one resident felt compelled to challenge an ordinance making Parkersburg the only city in (West Virginia) being held to the letter of a poorly drafted, problematic piece of legislation," he said.
The ruling from Beane came in a lawsuit after Parkersburg resident and attorney Walt Auvil sued the city over the suspension of its recycling program last year with officials amid manpower issues. Auvil later asked the court to clarify whether the subscription-based model met the requirements of state code.
The proposed amendments to the code regarding recycling will be on first reading Tuesday.
Also on the agenda is the second reading of an ordinance authorizing funding for a portion of the Parkersburg Utility Board's planned $25,746,000 project to install a filtration system to remove forever chemicals from its water. Unlike most municipal ordinances, this will require passage on three readings.
On final reading are ordinances authorizing the design and construction of the filtration project and the rezoning of property at 709 Rayon Drive from a residential to a business zone.
On first reading are ordinances establishing mobile vending regulations and cumulative bulk and area standards for accessory structures.
A resolution moving $10,000 from a contingency line item to the Development Department for a new, downtown business grant program is back on the agenda, sponsored by Councilmen Zak Huffman and Chris Rexroad and Councilwoman Wendy Tuck. They were the only ones who voted in favor of the budget revision when it was rejected on a 5-3 vote, with one council member absent, at the July 28 meeting.
Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.