About 30 people were in attendance at the meeting, which was sponsored by the Marshall County Commission and held at the Moundsville Volunteer Fire Department. Commissioner John Gruzinskas served as moderator, while several other elected officials, as well as a representative from the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, voiced their concerns with the proposed amendment which will be on the ballot in November.

Amendment 2 would provide the legislature with authority to exempt tangible machinery and equipment used in business activity, as well as the personal property tax on motor vehicles paid by individuals. It also would give the Legislature spending control over 27% of all property taxes collected.

Mike Ferro, who serves as one of the county’s commissioners, said he was disturbed at how local stakeholders had been repeatedly kept out of the conversation in formulating the amendment, when those entities are the ones with the most to lose.

“None of the stakeholders were asked to participate. County commissioners were not asked, the assessors were not asked … the school boards and superintendents were not asked to participate,” Ferro said. “We stand to be the biggest losers, perhaps. … We were kept in the dark on this the entire time.

photo by: Alan Olson

About 30 people attend a town hall meeting in Marshall County.

“This takes away local control and gives more control to Charleston. Basically, I think what we’re saying is, ‘Charleston, come into our living room. You go ahead; you’re welcome to do this.'”

Ferro added that Amendment 2 is not a partisan issue between political parties. Ferro recounted a recent informal survey conducted among the county commission association, on which he serves on the executive board. Respondents among both Democrats and Republicans showed overwhelming opposition to the amendment.

The association represents 101 Republican commissioners, 67 Democrats, and one independent across 55 counties. Of the 32 counties which responded to the poll, 24 opposed Amendment 2, two supported it, and four expressed no opinion on the matter.

The reduction in property tax revenue would see Marshall County lose about $35 million, according to published reports – $21 million less to the county Board of Education, $12 million less for the county government, and $2 million less across the county’s municipalities. Such a loss would almost certainly necessitate a reduction in provided services, ranging from emergency services and infrastructure maintenance and improvements to services to which residents had become accustomed.

Moundsville City Manager Rick Healy spoke at the event, and said that seeing such a substantial hit to the city’s budget would equate to a substantial reduction in the services the city could likely provide — things like the leaf vac, removing snow from city streets and library funding.

photo by: Alan Olson

W.Va. Center on Budget and Policy representative Sean O'Leary speaks about Amendment 2.

“Those are the things we would have to look at and say, ‘What would happen if we lose that money out of our budget? We’re going to have to cut services,'” he said.

Sean O’Leary, representing the nonprofit Center on Budget and Policy, warned that passage of Amendment 2 would see a complete restructuring of local governmental structures.

“This would really change how local government is funded,” he said. “Right now, local government is controlled by local officials, controlled by the voters in those communities. This would really change that, … and (would give the Legislature) control over paying for these services, while the county would still be responsible for providing those services. There’s no guarantee what any of this would look like – a ‘yes’ vote on Amendment 2 doesn’t clarify any of those questions.”