BECKLEY, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Representatives for the City of Beckley have found themselves at odds with one another with regard to a proposed ordinance to move the city into a City Manager form of government.
An ordinance discussed at the most recent meeting of the Beckley City Council would see the city transition to a City Manager form of government from a Strong Mayor form of government. This would shift many of the responsibilities and expectations of the current Mayor position over to the person appointed as City Manager.
The ordinance was narrowly voted through for a second reading, prompting a 4-3 vote from council members present for the proceedings.
In spite of what was ultimately a successful vote in the affirmative, City of Beckley Mayor Rob Rappold expressed hesitation in moving forward with the second reading on the strength of a narrow vote.
“I am not comfortable with a narrow 4-3 vote by Council on such an important issue,” Rappold wrote, stating he intends to leave the decision to the voting public. “Recognizing the desires of at least 3 members of Council and several outspoken residents for public input, it is my intention to support an ordinance to send the question to the voters on the May 14th general election ballot.”
The concern of the mayor is shared by a number of community members who have expressed frustration at the notion of having a city leader potentially selected by seven members of City Council as opposed to such a decision being determined by a collective vote from the public.
Attorney, City Councilman, and Mayoral Candidate Robert Dunlap countered that – one’s position on the City Manager form of government notwithstanding – an agenda item being pulled with no discussion among members of the Council is highly irregular.
“Whether this change survives or whether it does not survive, that decision should be because it is an item already earmarked for the next agenda,” said Dunlap. “This is absolute folly to suggest that any person at our table should be able to remove such an important agenda item without letting our constituents speak through our votes.”
Dunlap would go on to point out that many agenda items have seen passage in the past based on votes of a comparably narrow nature, and that city leadership should stay the course in carrying out the plan as understood by the voting public.
“Numerous items of import have had close votes, and that does not mean that, after all of these years, all of these workshops, that we simply scrap what already announced would go to second vote, as that was what we agreed upon as the representatives of this city.”
Chair of the Beckley Human Rights Commission, Danielle Stewart has been adamant about giving a voice to the community members of the Beckley area with regard to the proposed City Manager form of government, telling LOOTPRESS,
“There are pros and cons to both, so we’re not out here arguing which one to vote for. What we are saying though, is that the seven members of City Council should not decide for the 17,000 residents what our government is going to be.”
The next meeting of the Beckley City Council is set for 6:30pm on Tuesday, December 12, 2023. The agenda of discussion items for the session, released on Friday by City Council, does not include a second reading of the previously proposed City Manager ordinance, confirming Mayor Rappold’s intention to eschew the reading.
The full agenda for next week’s meeting of the Beckley City Council can be seen below.
- Call meeting to order.
- Reading and approval of minutes from the Workshop dated November 27, 2023.
- Reading and approval of minutes from the regular Council meeting dated November 28, 2023.
- Purchase of property adjacent to the Rail Trail to provide the City access to the northern part of the trail.
- Approval of the map outlining the wards in the City.
- 2nd Reading and public hearing of an Ordinance reducing speed limit on Hull Street to 15 MPH.
- First Reading of Ordinance Rezoning 13.603 Acres (Tax Map 49, Parcel 12, Beckley Corporation) located along Withrow Loop from “M” Manufacturing District to “B-1” Neighborhood-Highway Business District.
- Old Business.
- New Business.
- Public Comments.
- Adjournment.
