Martinsburg, Nitro To Try Home Rule

An Eastern Panhandle city and another city in the Kanawha Valley will seek to participate in the state’s Municipal Home Rule Pilot Program.
 
 The Martinsburg City Council and the Nitro City Council both approved ordinances on Tuesday authorizing the submission of applications to the program.
 The program shifts power from the state to the local level and gives municipalities a larger say in how they govern. It began as a five-year pilot program in Bridgeport, Charleston, Huntington and Wheeling.
 
Last year, the Legislature continued the program until July 1, 2019, and allowed a total 20 municipalities to participate.