Clarksburg Council Rejects Proposal to Make Water Board Appointed

CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — The Clarksburg Water Board will remain an elected body after City Council rejected a proposed charter amendment that would have allowed council to appoint its three members.

Council voted 6 to 1 against the ordinance Thursday during its second and final reading. Council Member Marc Jackson cast the only vote in favor. Council members Andrew Banko, Ryan Deems, Martin Howe and Jerry Riffle joined Mayor Wayne Worth and Vice Mayor Rocky Romano in voting against the proposal.

The ordinance would not have immediately removed or replaced the current Water Board members. Had council approved it, the proposed charter amendment would have been submitted to Clarksburg voters for final ratification.

Because the measure failed on final reading, the question will not advance to voters under the current proposal.

The ordinance also proposed additional changes involving the operation of the Water Board and its meetings, according to the official council agenda.

The appointed board proposal was introduced by former Council Member Will Hyman and received first reading approval June 18 during the final regular meeting of the previous council term.

Hyman said at the time that the proposal would change the Water Board from one elected by the public to one appointed by City Council, creating a structure more similar to the Clarksburg Sanitary Board.

Hyman’s term ended before the ordinance returned for its final vote, leaving the newly seated council to decide whether the proposal would advance. Thursday was the first regular business meeting for Banko and Romano as council members and Worth as mayor.

Council held little discussion before taking the roll call vote.

The decision came approximately two months after Clarksburg residents participated in a Water Board election. Chad E. Sigmon was elected to a four year term and joined Water Board President Albert N. Cox II and board member Paul J. Howe III on the three member elected board.

Before the vote, attorney Marc Bryson spoke on behalf of the Water Board and urged council to reject the appointed board proposal.

Bryson argued that the Water Board was established under state authority and operates independently from City Council in managing Clarksburg’s municipal water system. The existing city charter says the board has full and exclusive jurisdiction over the system’s operation and management, independent of control by council and the city manager.

“These amendments would fundamentally transfer executive authority over the city’s water system from an independent water board to the city manager and the City Council,” Bryson said.

Bryson also told council that the city had previously argued in court filings that it did not exercise operational control over the Water Board. He maintained that the proposed changes conflicted with that earlier legal position and could create uncertainty for employees, contractors, lenders, regulators and ongoing infrastructure projects.

He warned that advancing the amendment could result in litigation over whether City Council had the authority to make the proposed changes.

Bryson’s comments represented the Water Board’s legal position. Council did not make a judicial determination regarding the underlying legal disagreement Thursday.

Bryson was the only person to speak during the public hearing on the ordinance.

Although council rejected the appointed board proposal, four separate charter amendments affecting the Water Board remain active.

Council approved those amendments on final reading June 18, sending them to voters for consideration at the next municipal election. They would establish term limits and a recall process for Water Board members, change how vacancies are filled and move the beginning of terms for Water Board and City Council members from July 1 to June 1 following an election.

Bryson asked council Thursday to reconsider those previously approved amendments, but council took no action on his request.

The central structure of the Water Board will remain unchanged. Clarksburg residents will continue electing its three members, while the separate charter questions approved in June are still expected to go before city voters unless council revisits them.