(Letter to the Editor - Photo Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection)

As I’ve written before, the mayor and council of the City of Parkersburg is failing its citizens. The sanitation issue is a result of the mayor’s refusal to hire sufficient staff and the council’s refusal to pay them fairly. Consequently, sanitation department employees are resigning for better paying jobs. City leaders think the answer is to contract out this essential city service.

It’s not.

The answer is simple: raise the pay to at least $20 an hour for CDL drivers and $16 an hour for “slingers” who load the trash onto the trucks. For some unknown reason, Mayor Joyce mistakenly believes all the employees need to be CDL licensed drivers.

Wrong! In most cities, garbage trucks require one driver and two slingers.

Because the mayor has refused to recruit slingers, many vacant positions have gone unfilled and current employees are being paid overtime to do the job, which is a gross waste of city funds.

If the city paid fair wages and hired an adequate number of employees, the budget would be fine and the job would continue to get done. We have terrific sanitation employees who do a difficult job, and we need them to continue. The mayor needs to hire a good department supervisor to oversee the function. Quite simply, the mayor is neglecting the department and the council refuses to hold him accountable.

Contracting out the essential city service is not the answer! Holding city officials responsible is. They need to resume the recycling function, pay the employees fairly, hire an appropriate number of staff and continue using city vehicles and equipment.

The article in last Sunday’s Parkersburg News and Sentinel implies that city officials have already decided to award the contract to one of only two contractors. The people need to voice their displeasure with our incompetent mayor and city council members! If the contract is awarded to Rumpke or Waste Management, both profit-motivated entities, our citizens will suffer, both financially and in the quality of the sanitation services provided. Don’t let that happen! Let your council members know that contracting out essential city services is NOT the answer. Holding the mayor accountable is!

Russ Bowers

Parkersburg