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PARKERSBURG Parkersburg City Council on Tuesday will consider final approval for an ordinance creating intern positions in the Parkersburg Police Department and the donation of a greenhouse to a local youth service organization.
The first regular meeting of February is slated for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in council chambers on the second floor of the Municipal Building. Those attending are required to wear masks and observe 6-foot social distancing guidelines.
At its Jan. 26 meeting, council unanimously approved the first reading of the ordinance creating the police internship program. Participants would be paid $10 an hour as they learn about various aspects of police operations. Mayor Tom Joyce has said it’s a way to improve recruitment by maintaining connections with promising candidates who may not be ready to attend the state police academy.
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Clockwise from left, Parkersburg Utility Board Comptroller Erin Hall, Manager Eric Bennett, Chairman Tom Joyce, Vice Chairman Gregory Herrick and members Paul Hoblitzell and Mike Evans attend Tuesday’s meeting at the utility’s office. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
PARKERSBURG The Parkersburg Utility Board voted Tuesday to refinance bonds to save an estimated $300,000 over the next five years.
Originally issued for $35 million in 2005 to fund upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant, the bonds were refinanced in 2015 to lower the interest rate from 4.23 percent to 2.6 percent. With interest rates even lower now due in part to the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the PUB can refinance again at an interest rate of 0.8 percent.
PARKERSBURG Parkersburg City Council will consider a series of mid-fiscal-year budget revisions on Tuesday.
The Finance Committee will review the requests from the administration during a 6:30 p.m. session in the executive conference room on the second floor of the Municipal Building.
If referred by the committee, a resolution authorizing the revisions will be part of the agenda for the regular council meeting at 7:30 p.m. in council chambers.
City Finance Director Eric Jiles said many of the revisions are adjustments to conservative revenue estimates made in light of the uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, the original projection for business and occupation tax revenue was in excess of $8.3 million, he said. But it was revised downward by more than $1 million last year as city officials waited to see how efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus would impact revenue and what type of reimbursements they would receive from the federal government.
ebevins@newsandsentinel.com Parkersburg City Council President Zach Stanley, right, explains the format for a council workshop to discuss priorities for the coming year and the four-year term during a Committee of the Whole meeting Friday at the Municipal Building as Councilmen Austin Richards, left, and Chris Rexroad listen. (Photo by Evan Bevins) Parkersburg City Councilman Chris Rexroad writes down items fellow council members identify as concerns in their districts during a meeting of council’s Committee of the Whole on Friday at the Municipal Building. (Photo by Evan Bevins) Parkersburg City Councilman Bob Mercer speaks during a Committee of the Whole meeting to discuss council priorities Friday at the Municipal Building. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
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Parkersburg Police Chief Joe Martin discusses a proposed internship program for the department during a Parkersburg City Council Personnel Committee meeting Tuesday at the Municipal Building. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
PARKERSBURG An ordinance establishing an internship program for the Parkersburg Police Department was referred to Parkersburg City Council on Tuesday by its Personnel Committee.
If approved by council at its Jan. 26 and Feb. 9 meetings, the ordinance would create four intern positions that pay $10 an hour with no benefits. Mayor Tom Joyce and Police Chief Joe Martin said the program would engage and train candidates who passed the written and agility tests for the department and completed a background check but may not be ready to go to the academy and join the department.