Wheeling City Councilwoman Connie Cain and City Manager Robert Herron take part in Wednesday night’s council meeting. (Photo by Eric Ayres)
WHEELING – Several citizens spoke out in opposition to the measure and one council member voted against it, but a majority of Wheeling City Council members on Wednesday night voted to support legislation that essentially criminalizes panhandling in the city.
Other larger municipalities in West Virginia are expected to follow Wheeling’s lead on the issue and pursue similar legislation to address concerns over interactions between pedestrians and motorists. Wheeling City Solicitor Rosemary Humway-Warmuth indicated that she collaborated with representatives from legal departments in other cities in the state and was confident that it would stand up to any potential legal challenges.
During Wednesday night’s meeting of Wheeling City Council, city leaders heard a second reading of the Pedestrian and Vehicle Safety ordinance that places numerous specific restrictions on interactions between pedestrians and people in motor vehicles that are situated in a lane of traffic. A public hearing on the matter also took place at the beginning of the meeting, and seven individuals signed up to speak on the ordinance.
Wheeling City Solicitor Rosemary Humway-Warmuth attends Wednesday night’s regular city council meeting. (Photo by Eric Ayres)
Almost all of them spoke against the measure, painting it as yet another step toward infringing on the rights of less fortunate people in the community. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in the past that panhandling is protected as free speech under the First Amendment to the Constitution. However, a number of U.S. cities have moved forward with public safety restrictions that focus on prohibiting dangers posed by interactions between individuals who are on foot and people in motor vehicles.
Councilwoman Connie Cain cast the sole dissenting vote in the traffic ordinance. She indicated that many people in the city had reached out to her about the legislation.
“I would like to see more data of accidents, because I do give,” Cain said. “It’s the same people out there. I would like to see a police report where somebody’s been arrested for attacking someone at the intersections. I would like to see some data on accidents before we put this in.”
Other council members stressed that city government had not only the right to address public safety issues but also the responsibility to do so. Cain agreed, but questioned the true intentions of and the need for the legislation – whether it is to protect public safety or to hamper freedoms of charitable giving.
“Safety is first, but they’ve been out there forever,” Cain said. “I went to Perkins, and I’ve talked to some of the people at Perkins – and they don’t have a problem with them. If we start at just these intersections, how far is it going to go? I do feel strongly about infringing upon people’s rights to give.”
Many individuals in the audience during Tuesday night’s meeting applauded raucously after Cain’s statements and after every speaker’s concurring opinion was delivered during the public hearing. Councilman Dave Palmer said he did not feel that this behavior was necessary.
Wheeling City Councilman Dave Palmer speaks Wednesday night during a regular meeting of city council. (Photo by Eric Ayres)
“When did we become a clapping show?” Palmer asked. “This is for people to have formal discussions. I think the clapping needs to cease. We’re all here to air how we feel whether we’re for or against it, but we don’t need to overwhelm one side or the other.”
Kellie White of Eoff Street in South Wheeling said about a dozen people in the city panhandle regularly.
“What I’m asking you is to consider working on serving our community rather than criminalizing our most needy,” White said. “How many hours of panhandling would someone need to pay the proposed $100 fine after their first warning?”
John Russell of 15th Street said many of these people rely on panhandling as a last-resort lifeline to survive and that being forced to live in the woods a long distance away from needed services is more unsafe than asking for money on the street.
“I’m against this ordinance because I think it’s more embarrassing than any number of panhandlers in the city,” said Elizabeth Horacek of 16th Street. “It sends the wrong message of what our city is about. It’s kind of annoying to have panhandlers on the side of the road, so we make it about public safety when it’s not, and I think that’s embarrassing.”
Logan Schmidt of Jacob Street said he would like the city to share some “real, hard data” on accidents at these intersections that warrant making this a priority for public safety.
Wheeling resident Kellie White speaks out during a public hearing before Wheeling City Council on Wednesday night, when several citizens voiced opposition to legislation that essentially bans panhandling in the city. (Photo by Eric Ayres)
“This is insane from both an ethical and a common sense standpoint,” said Joseph Roxby of South Wheeling. “Please do not be the bad guys today and strip away more freedoms to a non-solution to a real problem of human suffering. Please do not soil the soul of our city with this unfriendly ordinance.”
Opponents of the legislation noted that the Wheeling Fire Department solicits funds on the side of the road at the busy Perkins exit ramp off of Interstate 70 twice a year during it’s Stuff the Boot campaign – collecting money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. This practice will have to stop in the name of public safety because of the new traffic law.
However, a representative from the local firefighters union came forward as the lone speaker who supported the legislation.
“Too many times we’ve seen – myself included, just as recently as last week – accidents almost happen or actually do happen because of vehicles abruptly stopping to give money to a citizen on the side of the road,” said Lt. Thomas Haluscak, paramedic from Wheeling Fire Department Station 2, noting that safety is at the core of their profession. “I appreciate this due process, and I speak on behalf of Wheeling Professional Firefighters Local 12 when I say we will stand behind our elected city officials and the decisions they will make.”
Haluscak said the firefighters will continue to raise money for MDA through other avenues.
“For many years I’ve used that exit near Perkins almost daily – I’ve witnessed several near misses,” Mayor Denny Magruder said.
“It’s our responsibility to address public safety issues head-on,” said Councilman Ben Seidler. “It would be incredibly irresponsible for us to wait until somebody dies to say, ‘oh, maybe we should have done something about that.’”
Wheeling Resident John Russell speaks out during a public hearing before Wheeling City Council on Wednesday night, when several citizens voiced opposition to legislation that essentially bans panhandling in the city. (Photo by Eric Ayres)
Seidler said it is council’s duty to be proactive on such issues.
The city solicitor indicated that Wheeling’s legal department worked with municipal attorneys in cities throughout the state of West Virginia on this ordinance. Many of them are looking at the same issues, and a number plan to bring forth similar proposals using Wheeling’s legislation as a template.
“The legal department has extensively researched the ordinance at issue and believes that it upholds the purposes of pedestrian and vehicle safety, is appropriate and will withstand challenges,” Humway-Warmuth said.