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PARKERSBURG - The final reading of an ordinance increasing the annual salary for Parkersburg's next mayor to $125,000 is among the items City Council members are set to consider Tuesday night.
The first regular meeting of November is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in council chambers on the second floor of the Municipal Building. It will be preceded by a Personnel Committee meeting at 6 p.m. in the executive conference room on the same floor.
The proposed pay raise for the city's chief executive was heavily debated at both meetings in October, as it would move the pay from $90,000 a year to $125,000. Proponents on council have said the increase is necessary to attract quality candidates to take what is a temporary job and pointed to the lack of a raise for this term and the fact that the city's department heads already make more than the mayor, who appoints and supervises them, does.
Opponents, including some council members and people who have spoken in the public forum, have said the hike is too much and suggested smaller or incremental increases. Some have also said the job of mayor should be about a desire for public service, not financial reward.
Per state code, an elected official's salary cannot be changed during their term in office. Traditionally, the mayor's salary has been adjusted for the next term near the end of the preceding one. However, some council members have argued that doing it now removes any potential or perceived influence of knowing who was running for or had been elected mayor.
The raise, if approved, would take effect in 2029. Mayor Tom Joyce cannot run in 2028 because of term limits.
Other ordinances on final reading include authorization of an amended lease agreement between the city and the Wood County Recreation Commission reflecting the commission's move to the newly opened Simms Powell Pavilion in City Park and amending the city's rules regarding mobile vendors, particularly food trucks.
Ordinances on first reading include amendments to the personnel policy and procedure manual pending approval by the Personnel Committee earlier in the evening and a rezoning of property belonging to and including Beamer's Auto Body on Ninth Avenue, which was tabled at the Oct. 13 council meeting after residents spoke against the proposal. It would have to be brought off the table before it could be reconsidered.
The agenda also includes a supplemental resolution for the bond issue funding the installation of a granular activated carbon filtration system at the Parkersburg Utility Board's water treatment plant to remove forever chemicals from the water, which will not increase utility rates. Another resolution would set council meetings for the second and third Tuesdays of November and December to account for the upcoming holidays.