LEWISBURG (WVDN) – The Greenbrier County Commission met on Aug. 23 to discuss their regular business and hear a request from the Greenbrier County Board of Education.
Greenbrier County Schools Superintendent Jeff Bryant requested that the school excess levy be included on the Nov. 8 ballot and also requested an increase in the rate from 50% to 60%.
This request to be included on the fall election ballot comes after the state passage of Bill 4353 requiring education levies be held in unison with regular elections.
The increase of 10% requested is justified by the upcoming practice of including armed, trained, and uniformed off-duty police officers stationed at the county schools, Bryant said.
“There was a time, I hoped this (violence in public schools) would never happen in our county, but now the time has come where we just ask ‘when,” he said.
Also, part of the presentation was chief school business official and treasurer Dave McClure. He stated that currently the 60% rate, including the 10% increase of a renewable levy, falls mid-scale within the 43 other counties in the state that use an excess levy to fund education.
The money from the levy only accounts for 12% of the annual schools’ budget as it stands right now.
McClure also stated that Ohio County has a similar population size using a levy and only one tenth the square miles that Greenbrier County has. This shows the need in Greenbrier County because of the cost of busing students countywide.
The current levy, that was approved by voters, expires June 20, 2024. There is a five-year term on that present levy.
The Greenbrier County Commission voted to approve the inclusion of the renewal of the excess levy into the regular ballot at the next regular election on Nov. 8.
Following this presentation and vote, Greenbrier County Commissioner Tammy Tincher proposed a resolution stating that the Greenbrier County Commission is opposed to the Constitutional Amendment no. 2 currently working its way through the West Virginia state Legislature.
Tincher said this amendment on property tax modernization will create financial woes for the government services in Greenbrier County.
Although there may be a short-term benefit to voters, believing they might have less or no tax on their personal vehicles, there is not a guarantee that this would actually be the result of the modernization, she said.
Tincher stated that the amendment takes away a funding source for county services, including 911 and public safety, without providing for an alternate source of funding for the county.
In total, the lost revenue could amount to nearly $3 million and would also affect the school aid formula also known as the excess levy.
The Greenbrier County Commission voted to send this resolution to the state Legislature while the amendment goes through the legislature. Should it eventually land on Governor Jim Justice’s desk, it will be known that Greenbrier County Commission is opposed.
In other business, a 20-year-old estate was closed by the Greenbrier County Commission, having begun two decades ago and involving the property of Hiawatha Beverly of Ronceverte.
Additionally, the settlement for the final “Big Three” opioid distributers, AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson, was accepted by the Greenbrier County Commission.
Regarding the Greenbrier County Courthouse renovation, it was announced that the windows in the new addition have been installed, and the building is weather tight allowing for interior work through the cooler and wet fall months.
Occupation of the new addition of the Greenbrier County Courthouse is expected at the end of November 2022.
