MORGANTOWN — Just as in 2017, Morgantown’s voters will have a choice between Rachel Fetty and Ron Bane as city council’s representative from the 1st Ward.
This time around Fetty, up for reelection for the first time, is the incumbent. She defeated Bane 1,652-915 two years ago, ending his 16-year run on council.
Both Fetty and Bane sat separately with The Dominion Post Editorial Board this week and addressed a variety of topics.
Fetty said there are clear distinctions between the two candidates. She pointed to a difference in attitude toward the Monongalia County Commission and overall work ethic
as examples.
“We can’t simply read our packets, vote and go home,” Fetty said, noting the city needs council members willing to take on additional responsibilities. “I’m really proud of our city council right now because we all took on extra responsibilities when we came on …”
She went on to say she is opposed to the use of litigation to resolve philosophical disputes among councilors — a reference to a removal petition targeting a portion of the previous council that Bane signed.
Bane said the last two years renewed his drive to represent the 1st Ward, explaining his candidacy isn’t about attacking Fetty, but addressing two or three core issues — specifically the city’s relationships with entities like the county and, above all, transparency.
“We’ve gone through a two-year period where, and I don’t know if they’re not asking good questions or not demanding enough information, but how are you supposed to make decisions when you’re not consistently getting the information from the administration,” Bane said. “We’ve seen that time and again.”
Annexation
Bane said what he’s seen of a recently publicized annexation study leads him to believe the city is taking a short-term
perspective in an attempt to boost revenue.
He also questions whether the city actually reached out to those affiliated with targeted areas like the Suncrest Towne Centre in an effort to pave a more amicable path into the city rather than taking the area by boundary adjustment.
“This whole plan looks to me like it’s only to jump on revenue right now. Why not look at a plan for down the road,” Bane said, highlighting Sabraton to illustrate his point.
“The area around the interstates that any part of the city touches are the growth areas. You see it in Westover. You see it in Granville. We have that right here in Sabraton. It’s our diamond in the rough … Why not at least talk to the owners so that if there’s development down the road, we have those properties in the city? It’s not just about who can pay us right now.”
Fetty said the city’s current boundaries are “untendable.”
While Fetty said she’s yet to see the whole report, she said the city’s annexation efforts are not a cash grab, but an effort to get participation from developments situated intentionally on the city’s boundaries and assist areas surrounded by the city but reliant on county services. She mentioned housing development Marjorie Gardens as an example.
“They’re surrounded by the city. But what we hear is that there are pockets of crime, drug dealing and families that are not safe, but when they need protection or assistance, they have to call the county,” Fetty said. “The closest fire station is [Morgantown’s] South High station, but their fire station is Brookhaven, and that’s a densely populated area. So I think when you look at those kind of situations, it’s impossible to say this is just a money grab.”
City/county relations
Fetty said she has a serious concerns about the county commission’s decision to lower its levy rate and boast of an estimated $8 million carryover despite the stated needs of entities like BOPARC, which serve both city and county residents.
She said excess levy funds are not funds provided by the county, but by the voters, noting Morgantown residents voted to pay a levy that only supports volunteer fire departments in the county.
“When the county says, ‘We don’t need to raise our budget at all … We’re going to cover 130,000-plus residents with a budget that’s less than the City of Morgantown and make it impossible for us to make a greater contribution,’ as a resident I’m frustrated and as a councilor I’m disturbed,” Fetty said. “They say, ‘We’re going to have an $8 million rollover … and I can’t figure out why I’m voting for levies if the consequence is the county then cuts their tax funding.”
Bane said he believes the current county commission functions better than any in recent memory and should have a close working relationship with Morgantown City Council.
If that were the case, he said, the city could have worked with the county on potentially implementing a 1 percent sales tax county-wide instead of just within Morgantown, as appears inevitable.
“That way you don’t have someone wanting to bring a business to this area and forced with the choice of whether they want to be in Morgantown or one of these other areas that doesn’t have the 1 percent sales tax,” Bane said, later adding “I can’t really say exactly what the relationship with the county is now, but I know I have a good relationship with those guys … and I know I can call any of the commissioners and say, ‘Hey, would you meet with us,’ and I know they would.”
Outsourcing counsel
Fetty said she wasn’t thrilled to learn the city manager planned to eliminate the city attorney’s office in favor of an arrangement with City Attorney Ryan Simonton through an outside law firm, but she understands the benefits of doing so.
Bane, on the other hand, said he believes it to be a violation of the city’s charter.
“Section 9 of the city charter says that no employee can benefit from an action of council or the city. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck. If this money is going to wherever Mr. Simonton is going, he’s benefiting.” Bane said, explaining “I probably would have been a little bit more forceful than others on council because, you know I like the charter, and when you take an oath to the charter you should follow it. I think we’ve got an issue.”
Fetty disagrees, noting working in conjunction with other attorneys not only provides a greater array of expertise, but the ability to avoid ethical or malpractice issues through shared knowledge. Plus, she said, it was the city manager’s call to make.
“I think there are some folks who simply view everything as a conspiracy. I can’t understand where that comes from, but I just don’t see that happening here. It sells radio time, I guess. It sells papers, but it hurts people’s feelings. I wish my life was that exciting. I just don’t think it’s helpful when we’re trying to accomplish things.”
