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CCAWV Regional Roundtables AreUnderway
In October, The County Commissioners'Association of West
Virginia launched its annualRegional Roundtable meeting series. Th
emeetings run from October through mid"Decemberand are hosted by
eight counties across the state.
They provide an opportunity for commissioners,legislators, and
other elected o#cials to sit downand discuss issues that a$ect
their particular region.
Held prior to the legislative session, they are also agood
chance for commissioners to review theCCAWV legislative agenda.
One of CCAWV's legislative priorities for 2014 isidentifying and
acting on any legislation that couldhelp counties rein in regional
jail costs.We support more e#cient methods of collecting court
costs, redistribution of thereal property transfer tax back to the
collecting county, and changes to allow ancillary revenue streams
to be considered incalculating RJA per diem. Additionally, any
legislation that encourages cost"sharing with arresting entities
will besupported. We hope to work with the Regional Jail Authority
and the Legislature to continue seeking new ways to drivedown
costs.
CCAWV will maintain the sameposition as last year on a number
ofissues that are likely to resurface duringthe 2014 Legislative
session: Wesupport the Simple Majority
Amendment for passage of local levies,911 fees staying in
counties, a studyresolution to review the entire mentalhygiene
process, VFD fundingmechanisms when the revenue isneutral to
counties, and the concept ofa future mineral trust fund.
Some issues that CCAWV opposesinclude :The Tangible Pe
rsonalProperty Tax Exemption and RateReduction amendment without
a
replacement revenue source; any increase in the Homestead
Exemption that could be detrimental to counties' tax base;
anysalary increase for 2014.
As these meetings continue, we hope commissioners and lawmakers
will continue to use this forum to come together andtalk about
common issues.
It has been a very productive season of roundtables, and we look
forward to continuing the conversation!
A publication of The County Commissioners' Association of West
Virginia ! November 2013 !www.ccawv.org
http://www.ccawv.org/http://www.ccawv.org/
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President
Tim McCormick, Ohio (234-3628)
Vice-President
Nancy Cartmill, Cabell (526-8634)
Immediate Past President
Ron Watson, Harrison (624-8500)
District 1-- Western Division
Don Mason, Marshall (845-0482)
John Stender, Tyler (758-2102)
Danny Greathouse, Hancock (564-3311)
District 1 -- Eastern DivisionChair: Janice LaRue, Mineral
(788-5921)
Bernie Fazzini, Harrison (624-8500)
District 2 -- Western Division
Agnes Queen, Lewis (269-8200)
Jerry Linkinoggor, Clay (587-4259)
District 2 -- Eastern Division
Chair: Mike Taylor, Randolph (636-2057)
J.R. Keplinger, Hardy (530-0284)
Donnie Tenney, Upshur (472-0535)
District 3 -- Western Division
Chair: Mickey Brown, Boone (369-1561)
Rick Handley, Mason (675-1110)
District 3 -- Eastern Division
Bob Pasley, Wayne (523-5246)
Jack Woodrum, Summers (466-7100)
Denise Scalph, Fayette (574-4290)
CCAWV
2309 Washington Street East
Charleston, WV 25311
(304) 345-4639
[email protected]
Vivian Parsons
Executive Director
[email protected]
Megan Stroup
Administrative Assistant
[email protected]
Dire ct or' s Discussio n w it h Viv ian Parso ns
One more and the 2013 regional legislativemeetings for CCAWV
will be completed.We've had some lively debates at the meetings
aswell as several requests for a second regional jailsummit this
spring where commissioners canshare and update each other on
methods for
pursuing jail cost savings.
The Association willset a date for it following the 2014
legislativesession.
The is su e of county of fi ci al s' sa la ri es wa sdiscussed
at the November legislative interimsand a draft bill was presented
by the committeesta$.The bill was completely new to CCAWV,
with no prior discussions or input from our membership. It would
reducecounty classifications from 10 down to 5 and impose an
approximate 12%payraise for all o#ces.The bill does incorporate the
CCAWV idea from last year,to allow for small incremental increases
&3%' every two years going forwardfrom 2016, however the raise
would be automatic instead of at the discretion of
the commission. Committee members will vote Dec. 9th on whether
or not torecommend the draft to the entire legislature.
The CCAWV position on county o#cial salary increases &as
determined by theentire membership'is not to support increasing
salaries in 2014 due to currenteconomic conditions in the U.S., the
State, and in individual counties. Some ofthe other elected county
o#cials disagree with this stance and have pooled theirindividual
association resources to hire a lobbyist to seek a 20% salary
hike,disregarding the county commissioners' position. Still, it is
the responsibilityof the o#ce of county commissioner to pursue
sound fiscal policy to the best ofour ability, including paying the
increasing costs of incarcerating inmates fromthe counties' limited
resources. While we are pleased that many legislatorsseem to like
the idea of small incremental increases and hope to work with
them
on this approach for a future increase mechanism, CCAWV remains
opposed topay raises in 2014.
President's Message by Tim McCormick
I trust all have had an opportunity to attendtheir regional
roundup and/ or will be attendingone.
We just finished ours last week and it went verywell! Please
don't miss this chance to speak face
to face with your representatives and explain theCCAWV agenda.
Thank you to Vivian andMegan for all their hard work and travels
helpingus spread the word!!!
I hope everyone had a very Happy Thanksgiving!!
We have a great deal to be thankful for; ourfamilies, our
health, and the opportunity to live in a country that allows us
tobe free and express our thankfulness in our own personal
way!!!
Have a great holiday season and to hell with the diets!!!!!
BoardofDi
rectors
2013-2
014
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]
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Crowning achievement: Construction of new 911/OEM Building;
Providing site for New HospitalBiggest debacle or most embarrassing
moment: in the 1980s it took the 8 member commission over 100 votes
to electa president. This made national news.Best advice for other
County Commissions: Dont hold a grudge, just vote and move
onFunniest thing to ever happen at a commission meeting: Several
years ago when a preacher was addressing the countycommission he
called the County Clerk the grey headed silver haired fox and one
of her deputies the chubby little blonde
girl.
Please list County Commission Sta": Kathy Mace, County
Administrator, Angela Whetsell, Administrative Assistant,William
Armstrong, IT, Duane Hamilton, Director of O#ce of Emergency
Management/911
Craig Jennings
Place where I grew up: TerraAlta, West Virginia
Real life occupation: AdvertisingExecutive WFSP Radio
Years experience as a CountyCommissioner: 11 years
You would be surprised to knowthat I: Have redone three large
old
houses and would not recommend itto anyone!
My personal philosophy: Do theright thing. Its easy to know
whatsright but often hard to do.
What do you like most aboutbeing a County Commissioner:Being
involved and able to havesome influences on many things.
What do you like least about
being a County Commissioner:tax issues, election canvass,
estatehearings
Who would you invite #living ordead$ to your next
CountyCommission meeting and whatwould yo u d is cus s : Twe
lveaverage taxpayers without a requestor an axe to grind, discuss
what theythink is important to them.
Dave Price
Place where I grew up:Kingwood, West Virginia
Real life occupation: DomesticEngineer
Years experience as a CountyCommissioner: Completing 25th
year.
You would be surprised to knowthat I: I love to hunt and I can
guta deer.
My personal philosophy: Treatothers with the same respect
that
you expect to be treated with.
What do you like most aboutbeing a County Commissioner:Making
lasting relationships/ friendships even when they arentasking for
anything.
What do you like least aboutbeing a County Commissioner:People
who think we are miracle
workers.
Who would you invite #living ordead$ to your next
CountyCommission meeting and whatwould you discuss: State
o#cials/county officials/local officials todiscuss who is
responsible for whatand how the system works.
Place where I grew up:Fellowsville, West Virginia
Real life occupation: InsuranceAgent
Years experience as a CountyCommissioner: 7 years
You would be surprised to knowthat I: I like sushi
My personal philosophy: TheGolden Rule
What do you like most aboutbeing a County Commissioner:The
ability to support and showcasemy county and all it stands
forthroughout the state
What do you like least aboutbeing a County Commissioner:Not
being able to help the people
who actually deserve it
Who would you invite #living ordead$ to your next
CountyCommission meeting and whatwould yo u discus s: RonaldReagan
and Maurice Jennings &my
grandfather'. The economy.
Spotlight on a County Commission: Preston County
Vicki Cole
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CCAWV RegionalRoundtables
November, and December 2013Stay tuned for dates
andlocations!
CCAWV LegislativeConference
January 26 "28, 2014Charleston Marriott
Charleston, WV
2014 Spring Board Meeting
May 18 "19, 2014Wheeling IslandWheeling, WV
2014 CCAWV AnnualConference
August 3 "6, 2014Pullman PlazaHuntington, WV
County Commission OutreachBringing public awareness to the o!ce
of County Commissioner
This is a monthly publication for county commissioners, their
sta$our associate members and other interested parties.
Calendar of Events
In November, Vivian attended the HUB's board retreat. It is her
second year of servingon the board, and she is joined by former
commissioners Norm Schwertfeger and RetaGri#th as well as current
Fayette County Commissioner Matt Wender.
While it is di#cult to reduce the work of the HUB down to a
single sentence, its missionhas four primary goals:To catalyze
community development in West Virginia; act as aliaison to
strengthen relationships among community development stakeholders;
buildcommunity development capacity; and develop and distribute
resources for communitydevelopment e$orts.
It is worthwhile for commissioners to familiarize themselves
with the HUB and itsrepresentatives as it is an excellent resource
for community planning and developmentprojects.
