West Virginia lawmakers hear from county representatives on property tax amendment

Jonathan Adler, government director of the West Virginia Affiliation of Counties, introduced knowledge to lawmakers Monday displaying how a lot counties assess in property tax assessments. (Picture by Steven Allen Adams)

CHARLESTON — A lobbyist group representing county elected officers instructed lawmakers Monday that they’ve taken no official stance on a constitutional modification on the November poll that may give lawmakers the authority to decrease or get rid of property taxes, however a full elimination might imply substantial losses to county budgets.
Members of the Joint Committee on Finance heard from Jonathan Adler, government director of the West Virginia Affiliation of Counties, the lobbyist group that represents county commissions and different county elected officers.
“The affiliation doesn’t have a place right now. We’ve not taken a vote in some way,” Adler instructed lawmakers. “We need to go ahead in religion effort.”
Adler was joined by county assessors from Tucker, Harrison, Monongalia, and Randolph counties. Adler and the county assessor group introduced knowledge to the committee displaying county actual tax greenback assessments overlaying tax years 2015 by 2021 for all 55 counties. The assessor group labored with Fairmont-based data expertise firm International Science and Expertise Inc. to gather the information.
The group’s purpose is to find out doable outcomes for counties ought to the Property Tax Modernization Modification – often known as Modification 1 – is adopted by voters in November. The Legislature adopted Home Joint Decision 3 in the course of the 2021 common session, placing the Property Tax Modernization Modification earlier than voters.
The proposed modification to the West Virginia Structure, if adopted by voters, would supply the Legislature with authority to exempt tangible equipment and tools, tangible stock, and motor automobiles from private property taxation. The modification would permit lawmakers to both section these taxes out or get rid of them completely.
In line with the report introduced Monday by the West Virginia Affiliation of Counties, the overall greenback quantity of assessments for tax 12 months 2021 was greater than $515.2 million for all 55 counties mixed. Assessments ranged from a excessive of $60 million for Kanawha County to greater than $443,000 for Calhoun County.
In comparison with the $575.6 million in whole gross tax greenback assessments in tax 12 months 2015, property tax collections have dropped greater than 10.5 % over a seven-year interval. Adler defined that the drop was on account of taxation of producing tools.
County governments and county faculty methods depend on private property taxes for many of their budgets, inflicting some heartburn for county officers who need to make sure that new tax income streams or different sources of funding are put in place earlier than any private property taxes are eradicated.
“We need to see that backfill in perpetuity,” Adler stated. “If the numbers and the mathematics doesn’t work as we get down this course of, then I don’t know that we could be supportive of it. I imply, that’s acquired to be actually the important thing.”
“However the affiliation typically stands prepared to work with us if we try and ship the folks of West Virginia a discount or an elimination of the taxes on their automobiles and vans whereas additionally sustaining the funding to the counties,” requested Del. Daniel Linville, R-Cabell.
“Yeah, that’s why we’re right here,” Adler stated.
It was additionally identified by Randolph County Assessor Phyllis Ok. Yokum that the $515.2 million in county actual tax assessments for tax 12 months 2021 is completely different than what is definitely being collected. County officers are nonetheless working to gather knowledge on what is definitely being paid to counties versus what’s being assessed.
“In collections, that half has to return from the Sheriff’s Workplace, as a result of the Assessor doesn’t accumulate taxes; we do the evaluation,” Yokum stated.
“We all know what ought to be coming into that county. The collections, alternatively come, they’re truly collected within the Sheriff’s Workplace. So, they’ve that knowledge, which we’re attempting to work on to get.”
Steven Allen Adams could be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com