MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – A pair of Democrat county commission presidents who actively opposed Amendment 2 in November expressed gratitude for their combined public efforts in Monongalia County Wednesday.
Amendment 2 would have allowed state lawmakers to repeal property taxes on vehicles, business machinery, equipment and inventory. Counties would no longer have had a direct revenue stream and would have to rely on state lawmakers for their annual budgets.
Monongalia County Commission President Tom Bloom said he became a vocal statewide opponent during a conference in January of 2022 when Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Eric Tarr was unable to provide the plan for counties to maintain their revenue.
Bloom said in the months leading up to the election he hosted many informational events in the northern part of the state while President of the Kanawha County Commission, Kent Carper conducted similar events in the southern portion of the state.
Wednesday, Carper attended the regular meeting of the Monongalia County Commission to reinforce the importance of working together to engage the public.
“I want to sincerely thank your commission for standing up and doing what was right,” Carper said. ” It really was a profile in courage and the fact that it was defeated by voters in your county two-to-one proves you right.”
Bloom and Carper said just a promise, or trust was not enough when hundreds of millions dollars of tax revenue that supports vital services for constituents weighs in the balance. Carper said when statewide policies and ideas are proposed it is their practice to look beyond their budget and borders.
“The Kanawha County Commission has consistently refused to support any legislation that hurts any other county, we just don’t do it,” Carper said. ” Big or small, it doesn’t make any difference to us because we believe we’re all in this together and it is a privilege to be here.”
Bloom said his attempts to get the plan to make counties whole if Amendment 2 passed was never clear. In fact, Bloom said questions at different times leading up to the November election received incomplete or inconsistent answers.
Bloom added several major economic development announcements bring thousands of jobs to the state were announced diluting the argument that property taxes limited economic opportunities.
“This proposal really benefited out-of-state companies,” Carper said. “I don’t know if you had Walmart or Kroger say they were going to move if you don’t do this. They did not come to me.”
During the meeting, Commissioner Sikora said they were willing to work with state lawmakers for tax relief. Carper added state lawmakers passed the amendment with little fanfare during the last legislative session when some coronavirus restrictions were in place.
“You’ve got to be part of the conversation to do that, and you are not part of this conversation,” Carper said. ” This was done down in the legislature when it was closed due to COVID and they did the Constitutional amendments.”
Both commissioners said record surpluses should and could be allocated to some form of tax relief, but a solid plan will be required. But, situations like the EMS/volunteer funding and pay issues within state agencies should be addressed first.
“Something can be done for relief from the inventory tax,” Carper said. ” But, it needs to be a solvable problem where you don’t just trust somebody five or ten years from now to pay for something.”
Statewide about 68-percent of West Virginia voters were opposed to Amendment 2.