Local News

Parkersburg City Council approves first reading of mayoral raise

PARKERSBURG - Members of Parkersburg City Council approved the first reading of a $35,000-a-year pay increase for the next mayor, and, as the Urban Renewal Authority, authorized the sale of a recently vacated portion of Seventh Street for part of a WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center expansion.

The two meetings lasted nearly a combined two-and-a-half hours, and each included the presiding officer warning an individual could be removed from council chambers.

As when the ordinance raising the annual mayoral salary from $90,000 to $125,000 first appeared on the agenda Oct. 13, multiple people voiced their opposition to the proposal during the public forum, although this time all speakers fit within the forum's allotted 30 minutes.

"I feel like the higher pay doesn't automatically ... translate to a better candidate," Parkersburg resident Alisa Prince said. "A CEO who is in the corporate world is not going to potentially ... drop a salary and take this job."

The mayor's pay should be modest, she said, emphasizing public service over financial gain.

A couple of residents said citizens should be able to vote on whether the mayor's salary goes up.

Because elected officials' salaries cannot be changed during their term in office, any increase in the mayoral salary could not go into effect until the next mayor takes office. Mayor Tom Joyce, who was absent from Tuesday's meeting, is limited to three consecutive terms.

Parkersburg resident Ray Vannoy suggested passing an ordinance increasing the salary by 3% each year of the next term but waiting until after the November 2028 election to pass it, "allowing the final decision to be made out in the open once the voters have chosen the next mayor."

The ordinance was tabled at the Oct. 13 meeting on a 7-2 vote. Councilwoman Sharon Kuhl, who made that motion, moved to take the ordinance off the table Tuesday. That passed on a 7-1 vote, with Councilman Chris Rexroad opposed and Councilman Mike Reynolds absent.

Councilwoman Wendy Tuck made a motion to amend the salary for the next term to $101,295, which she said reflected a 3% raise each year for four years. It failed 5-3, with only Rexroad and Councilman Zak Huffman joining her in voting for it.

Prior to that vote, Huffman asked the sponsors of the ordinance - Kuhl and Councilmen Roger Brown and Rob Moore why they chose the $125,000 amount. They did not answer, but Borkowski said the chief executives of the state's six largest cities other than Parkersburg, including mayors and city managers, make between $115,000 and $175,000 a year. He said the pay raise proposed works out to about 3% a year over a 12-year period, and there's no guarantee the next council would increase it again.

Salary adjustments in previous years have "always been after somebody's been elected," Borkowski said. "I think it's (now) the perfect time to do it."

The mayor's pay was last increased in 2020, from $80,000 to $90,000. Proposals to raise it to $110,000 and later $97,000, in 2024 did not receive votes.

Rexroad said he knows the salary wasn't increased after the last term, but he felt like $125,000 is "just way too high for this area."

Kuhl said last week that department heads appointed by the mayor already make more than $90,000 a year. Rexroad said council shouldn't be "hung up" on that.

"The only requirements for mayor is age and residency," he said, noting department heads and the city engineer have college degrees and expertise in specific fields.

The ordinance passed 5-3 on first reading with Tuck, Huffman and Rexroad opposed. It needs to pass on a final reading at the Nov. 10 council meeting before it could be adopted.

Urban Renewal Authority

The council meeting ended just before 9 p.m., and members reconvened as the Urban Renewal Authority 10 minutes later.

A proposal from WVU Medicine Camden Clark to purchase the 50-by-430-foot portion of Seventh Street recently vacated by the city earlier this year between Juliana and Ann streets for $5,000 was approved 7-0, with Tuck not in the room when the vote was taken.

Hospital CEO Sean Smith said the acquisition was vital to the hospital's plans to build a new south tower as part of a $135 million expansion.

Meeting interruptions

During discussion of a resolution requiring bi-monthly reports on the status,maintenance and priorities for the city's stormwater system, Borkowski sarcastically suggested people ask residents if they wanted to pay a large annual fee to support a stormwater utility. A man in the audience made a remark about manners and used an audible profanity, at which point Borkowski ordered him to leave the chambers and asked a police officer to escort him out. The man protested, and Borkowski called for a recess.

During the recess, an officer spoke to the man, who remained in chambers for the rest of the meeting.

Borkowski later asked people in the audience to stop applauding because it was disruptive.

At the URA meeting, someone spoke a couple of times while Kuhl, the chairwoman, was talking. Kuhl pointed to a member of the audience and said they would be removed if they made another comment. A woman asked if she was referring to her and Kuhl answered yes, though the woman said she was not the one who had not spoken. No one was removed from the meeting.

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