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STEUBENVILLE -- City officials are preparing to move forward with their charter review.
At Tuesday's meeting, Mayor Jerry Barilla asked each council member to nominate a "qualified elector" from their ward to serve. Those seven individuals, plus two others selected by Barilla and City Manager Jim Mavromatis, will be on the committee.
Solicitor Bernie Battistel said there are some stipulations: Members of the committee cannot be a city employee or their family, serve on any other city commission or do any business with the city.
Committee members will be tasked with going through the current charter and then recommending any changes, revisions or amendments they deem advisable. Since any changes have to be approved by voters, the charter commission's recommendations need to be delivered to council at least 90 days before the next general election. Members serve without compensation and their appointments will terminate when they submit their recommendations.
Councilman at large Joel Walker has spearheaded the charter review, pointing out time is running out to get it done: By code, it's supposed to be reviewed "at least every 10 years, but not later than 2025, (or) more often if deemed necessary by council."
"If you read (the code), it must be done 90 days before the election and it needs to be updated," Walker said. "We need to get the people appointed so they have the time to work on it and take the time to do it right and not rush anything through."
Third Ward Councilwoman Heather Hoover served notice on council and department heads they should come to an April 30 Pride Committee meeting prepared to find solutions to ongoing property maintenance issues. She also urged council to bring a list of "eyesores" in each of their wards to the meeting.
"If we don't have pride in our own community and take a stand to clean it up, how do we expect our citizens to?" she said.
City officials in the past had said they lack authority to go on private property and mow high grass and cut weeds, but Municipal Judge John Mascio says there are ordinances already on the books that give council the power to "take action against property owners" who fail to maintain their buildings and grounds.
Hoover said property maintenance was a recurring issue with the past council but they were never able to reach an agreement on how to address it. "I want (this) to be a working committee meeting, where we find solutions," she said. "I need solutions."
Mavromatis, though, cautioned that "what you can't do here is give everything away from the city."
"It will be abused," he said. "There's a cost to everything ... you can do it, as long as you understand there's going to be a cost."
Fourth Ward Councilman Royal Mayo said property maintenance violations were criminalized by a previous council, but Mascio maintains they'd be better served if they were kept in civil court.
Mayo, meanwhile, told council he'd "like to start having discussions" about how they can improve public transit for those who can't afford a car or maybe don't drive any more and would like to go to Pittsburgh or Wheeling."
Walker also said he'd like to bring the building inspector in to answer some questions, including how many the department issues in the typical month or year, if anyone else can sign off on inspections, who steps up when he's sick or on vacation and with so many projects going on at any one given time, how he decides with takes priority.
He also told council he'd like to meet in an as-yet unscheduled executive session for a six-month performance review for Mavromatis, something he said needs to be done more regularly.
First Ward Councilman Dave Albaugh suggested they get more involved in regional issues, pointing to the idling of the Cleveland-Cliffs plant in Weirton as well as the ongoing bridge construction.
"It seems like things they do over there (impact) us," he said. "The bridge, Cleveland-Cliffs ... we never know about them until the axe drops and its too late."
Fifth Ward Councilman Ted Gorman reported 275 kids are signed up for Little League and more than 100 for the softball league.
During a sometimes contentious 30-minute committee meeting prior to council, Mayo raised questions about city water disconnect and reconnect fees, saying city policies "need to be changed."
Currently, water customers delinquent on their bills are assessed a 10 percent fee if they miss the payment deadline. If the bill is not paid 10 days after due date a disconnect notice is mailed to the customer and they have an additional 14 days to pay. Customers may call and request an additional seven days provided their landlord OKs the extension, since landlords are responsible for unpaid bills if a tenant skips out. Then, 14 days after a disconnect notice is mailed out -- or 21 days after an extension is requested -- if payment is not made a work order will be issued. The meter department will try to notify the customer. If, in fact, they have to disconnect service the customer will have to pay any past due amount plus a $50 reconnect fee when the water is turned back on and only department employees have the authority to turn it back on.
Repair stops, however, are handled differently and cost less -- $10 when service is turned off and another $10 when the work is complete and water turned back on. A licensed plumber can turn the service back on.
Mayo took exception to the higher fees, questioning whether the cost is justified, as well as holding landlords liable if a tenant stiffs the city. Utility Supervisor Lisa Knight said that rule changed years ago because landlords "used to just change the name on the lease" and the bills wouldn't be paid.
"I'm all for meeting," Mavromatis said. "But these are conditions people choose to do and there's a cost associated with it. There's nothing we can't do as a city as long as you understand that ... I wish I could tell you it's free but it isn't. Either they pay it or you pay it."