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Marshall County Commission Opposes Amendment 2

photo by: Alan Olson

Marshall County Administrator Betsy Frohnapfel, left, addresses the county commission regarding a housing needs assessment. Also pictured are county commissioners, from left, John Gruzinskas, Mike Ferro and Scott Varner.

MOUNDSVILLE – The commissioners of Marshall County are among the numerous local governmental voices in opposition to Amendment 2, an issue on the November ballot which would allow the West Virginia Legislature to reallocate local taxes to the Capitol.

County commissioners passed a resolution in August voicing local opposition to the amendment, which will be decided by voters in the coming election. The resolution states that the county feels voters and residents deserve a finalized, agreed-upon legislative plan for Amendment 2, rather than a “work-in-progress” or “trust us” proposal. County assessor Eric Buzzard had approached both the commissioners and Moundsville’s city council in recent weeks to seek their support in opposing Amendment 2.

The proposed Amendment 2, titled the “Property Tax Modernization Amendment,” would amend the State Constitution by providing 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.

Marshall County Commissioner Scott Varner said that Marshall County stands to lose around $35 million – $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 force cutbacks in the services offered through the county, according to county officials.

“If we have to cut $12 million out of our budget, it’s not the constitutional offices that’ll be affected, it’s the outside agencies,” said county administrator Betsy Frohnapfel. “It’s the volunteer fire departments, the animal shelters, the libraries, the health department, the senior centers, Wheeling Health Right. The commissioners budget funds every year to contributions that aren’t budgeted within our annual budget – those will be the first items that are cut.”

County commissioner John Gruzinskas said that, even if Amendment 2 passes, it would give the Legislature the ability to adjust taxes, without any guarantee of action, such as the potential to eliminate personal property taxes on vehicles or other incentives.

Legislative leaders say that, if Amendment 2 passes and the Legislature eliminates tangible personal property taxes, it would replace that lost revenue with funding from the general revenue budget. It will use a formula providing at least $1 million over and above their annual tax assessments.

Yet county leaders remain skeptical.

“The Legislature is saying, ‘We’re going to make sure you are whole after this passes.’ We’re supposed to trust them, sight unseen, because they said ‘trust us,'” Gruzinskas said. “How many times have they delivered on economic promises in the past? If the roles were reversed, they wouldn’t trust this county to disburse money to them.”

Commissioner Mike Ferro added that numerous groups which represent local governments were omitted from discussions on Amendment 2, which further increased anxieties over what the Amendment could hold for the state.

“(T)he County Commission Association, Assessor’s Association, the Association of Counties, nor the Superintendents Association were involved in preliminary discussions,” Ferro stated. “The ‘stakeholders’ did not have a seat at the table when discussions were being held. We were not able to help legislators understand how tax dollars are distributed, spent, what they are spent (on) nor what kind of impact this would have on our budgets.”

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