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Photo by Alan Olson Moundsville Water Board Superintendent Terry Roberts, right, is awarded the 2022 Best Water System award by Jerry Dotson.

MOUNDSVILLE — A surprise visit to Moundsville’s water treatment facility showed off not just the quality of the city’s water, but the quality of its workers, which earned another surprise — a state award recognizing their efforts.

Moundsville’s water board was awarded the 2022 Water System of the Year by the West Virginia Rural Water Association, which was presented at council Tuesday evening by representative Jerry Dotson. Dotson had dropped by for an unannounced visit, according to superintendent Terry Roberts, and was so impressed by what he saw that Dotson nominated Moundsville for the award, which they would win in recent weeks.

“This is just an honor beyond honors, for me,” Roberts said. “Jerry showed up at our plant unexpectedly, he took our tour and went through our facilities, and was impressed, and he thought we deserved this award.”

Roberts thanked the myriad employees with the water board, water department, and with the city who helped work together to ensure the waterworks do so.

“We work hard in front and behind the scenes, doing the best we can. It’s something that means the world to us. There’s no words for it,” he said. “It’s very hard to find the quality people we have. It takes a lot of dedication and hard work — it takes a special person to do what we do. You’ve really got to care about your job and it shows, by getting this award.”

Dotson said he was blown away by the quality of the staff at the water department.

“The professionalism and the outstanding quality of their operation is the example of what a water system should look like,” Dotson said.

In other council business, city leaders heard from Marshall County Assessor Eric Buzzard, who advised resistance to Amendment 2, a proposal on the ballot in November which would give the West Virginia Legislature the authority to reduce or eliminate six categories of personal property taxes.

Buzzard said that the taxes represented in the amendment constitute more than $30 million annually locally. Statewide, the state would be sending $515 million to the capitol.

“Marshall County stands to lose more than $30.3 million each and every year if this is implemented and passed by voters,” Buzzard said. “This funds police, public safety, fire, health departments, courts, elections, etc.”

City Manager Rick Healy stressed that the amendment’s passage would likely see the services local governments are able to provide being reduced, in response to the reduced income.

“I think the key word for the constituents to hear, from our side, is services,” Healy said. “Services that we currently provide, based on our current budget, are what the citizens have come to expect. Those services could potentially take a hit, obviously, if our budget had to take that hit — X number of firefighters, police officers, street sweeping, garbage removal, down the line — they’re all services our citizens expect, and we enjoy giving them. We can’t give them that with reduced revenue. … Unless there’s … a re-balancing of the budget, it’s not going to happen,” Healy said.

“One way or another, it’s inevitable. This will come back on the backs of our residents,” Buzzard added.

Mayor Judy Hunt proposed, with unanimous support of council, a resolution voicing the city’s opposition to Amendment 2, to be passed at the next council meeting.

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