KINGWOOD — Three Preston County government offices have made dramatic changes to daily routines to continue serving the public.
The Preston County Commission closed the courthouse annex, sheriff’s department and 911/Emergency Management to walk-in traffic in March, as part of the county’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. The courthouse falls under the State Supreme Court’s restrictions on public use.
Preston County Clerk Linda Huggins said her office is still issuing marriage licenses, although not in the usual way. Instead of the couple going into the office, a clerk takes the forms out to their car.
“We check their IDs and verify their information, and they sign the form,” she said.
Huggins said the biggest job is getting ready for the primary election. She said it’s a big concern to ask poll workers to sit at the poll sites, where they could be exposed to the coronavirus.
“The governor gave the secretary of state some emergency rules so people can request an absentee ballot instead of going to the polls,” Huggins said. “We normally receive 150 to 200 absentee ballot requests during an election. We’ve already received approximately 1,000.”
She said it’s important for people who are registered in one of the minor parties to know they can request either a Democrat or Republican ballot. Huggins said she and her staff are trying to inform the public about this choice.
Circuit Clerk Betsy Castle said with the courthouse closed to the public, it’s not business as usual. Castle said the state supreme court allows circuit court and family court judges to conduct non-emergency, time-sensitive hearings via telephone or video
conference.
She said people are allowed to make an appointment and go into her office. Usually this is for posting bond. Some attorneys are also allowed to come in for court.
Castle said many of the forms the public would normally come to her office for can be found on the West Virginia Supreme Court website at courtswv.gov/ legal-community/court-fo rms.html. Forms found on the site include those to file in family court, magistrate court and regarding domestic violence.
Preston County Assessor Connie R. Ervin said her office has two people answering phones and three doing paperwork. Ervin said the rest of her staff is working from home, with the staff rotating from home to office mid-week.
“We all have direct access from home to our computers,” Ervin said. “We can do anything at home we can do from here.”
For example, if someone needs tax information in order to buy a vehicle license, a staff member can key the property information into their computer and it is instantly available to the sheriff’s tax office.
“Our website has been amazing through this,” Ervin said. “If someone calls us about a piece of land, we can send them a copy of what we are looking at. It’s a share system so we can share through email.”
She said her staff is working on the 2020-21 assessment year.
“We’re sending out appraisers. They will be viewing the property from their cars. If we have questions about a piece of property we will be sending them out in the mail,” Ervin said.
To contact the Preston County Clerk’s Office, call 304-329-0070. For the Preston County Circuit Clerk’s Office, call 304-329-0047. The Preston County Assessor’s Office can be reached at 304-329-1220 or preston. wvassessor.com
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