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Council rejects proposal to make Clarksburg Water Board appointed after legal warning from board counsel
Summary
Clarksburg council declined a proposed charter amendment that would have changed the Clarksburg Water Board from an elected body to an appointed one after counsel for the water board warned the move likely exceeds the council’s legal authority and risks litigation.
Mark Bryson, counsel for the Clarksburg Water Board, told the Clarksburg City Council on the second reading of a charter amendment that the measure would shift executive authority over the municipal water system from an independent, legislatively created board to the city manager and council.
"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, arguing the board was created by the legislature in 1917 and remains outside the council's operational control. He cited chapter 8 of the West Virginia Code and specifically referred to West Virginia Code §8-12-3 in his remarks about statutory preservation of previously granted authority.
Bryson urged the council not to adopt the ordinance on second reading. "Accordingly, on behalf of the water board, I'm here to respectfully request that you all first reject the proposed ordinance that's on a second reading tonight and decline to move forward with any additional charter amendments that directly go with the autonomy and materially impair the water board's independent authority," he said.
Council opened a public hearing on the amendment; Bryson repeated his legal concerns and made himself available for questions. After discussion and a call for the question, the council conducted a roll-call–style voice vote. The clerk recorded the votes as: Banco — No; Deems — No; Howe — No; Jackson — Yes; Riffle — No; Romano — No; Mayor Wood — No. The motion failed on the council floor.
Council members who opposed the amendment raised statutory and practical worries raised by Bryson, including separate finances, separate collective bargaining agreements and potential lender and contractor uncertainty if governance shifted. Supporters who favored revising the board's governance were outvoted in this session.
Because the council voted against adopting the order on second reading, the existing governance structure for the Clarksburg Water Board remains in place. Bryson warned council that continuing down the path to alter an entity created by special legislative charter could produce litigation and prolonged uncertainty for employees, regulators and customers.
The council moved on to other business after the vote; no further action on this amendment was taken at the meeting.
