MORGANTOWN — Monongalia County Commissioners responded to criticism from Morgantown City Council members and candidates on Wednesday, refuting the claim that lowering taxes is hurting area residents.
Like Morgantown, Star City, Westover and Granville, Monongalia County laid its levy for the coming fiscal year on Tuesday, dropping the county’s tax rate for the second year running.
For the fiscal year beginning July 1, the county’s rate will drop to 23.5 cents on every $100 of Class II property (residential) and 47 cents on every $100 of Class III and IV property (commercial).
Those numbers are down from the current rates of 24 cents and 48 cents, respectively.
As the April 30 Morgantown City Council election approaches, some candidates have taken the commission to task for lowering its taxes instead of making larger contributions to city parks and other initiatives that benefit both city and county residents.
“I’ve heard that we’ve received criticism for actually lowering our rate, which I can’t understand. I think the taxpayers need to know that we’re holding ourselves accountable and putting limits on ourselves,” Commissioner Sean Sikora said. “We don’t sit here and say, ‘What can we get and how can we spend it.’ We look at what we need and we go from there.”
Sikora explained that Monongalia County was one of only five counties to lower levy rates for the current fiscal year, giving it the third lowest tax rate in the state. Statewide numbers for the coming fiscal year are not yet available.
Commission President Tom Bloom was a bit more direct, noting county residents pay into the city in a number of ways, including the city’s weekly user fee, but have no say in city leadership. The city is expected to explore implementation of a 1 percent municipal sales tax next month.
“By lowering our property taxes, this will help offset the county residents who have to shelter the burden of paying new tax increases planned by the City of Morgantown,” Bloom said, noting the county is also getting pulled into another hot-button city election topic — annexation.
Bloom said he’s been contacted by residents concerned about comments indicating developments situated along the city’s boundaries — like Marjorie Gardens — aren’t covered adequately by law enforcement or fire protection.
“When elections go, people make comments. A city council member made, several times, this remark and I want to clarify,” Bloom said. “We do have police protection. We do have fire protection. Those people were concerned … I would only hope misstatements like that would be clarified. There is police and fire protection for everyone in the county.”
In other county news:
— A public hearing was conducted regarding the acquisition of the River Road Public Service District by the Morgantown Utility Board. No comments were offered.
Following the public hearing, the commission approved an order authorizing the acquisition.
— Assessor Mark Musick said representatives from the assessor’s office have started making their rounds gathering appraisals for the 2020 tax year.
He said field deputies are in the Battelle District looking at residential property and the commercial department is out picking up new construction county-wide.
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