MORGANTOWN, W.Va. The city of Morgantown is making changes to the parade policy to ensure all parades have adequate security and traffic control in the future.
City employees, including Morgantown Police Department officers, will continue to receive priority when considering staffing for parades and other special events.
According to the press release, if the city is unable to properly staff the events, a private traffic-control company could be used to block and/or reroute traffic during future parades.
“We certainly prefer that our parades are staffed by City of Morgantown employees,” said City Manager Kim Haws, “but we felt that it was necessary to formulate a backup plan to make absolutely sure that we can provide sufficient traffic control for these events.”
Recognizing the importance of parades for the city, Haws has authorized the payment of overtime for city employees for the events listed below:
The Monongalia County Fair Parade
The Morgantown Pride Parade
University High School’s Homecoming Parade
Morgantown High School’s Homecoming Parade
West Virginia University’s Homecoming Parade
The Christmas Parade
The Veterans’ Day Parade
The city will strive to use employees in “regular time,” but overtime has been authorized to help meet staffing requirements. In the event that staffing levels still fall short, the city would bridge that gap in service with a privately contracted company.