By Steven Allen Adams, The Weirton Daily Times
CHARLESTON — A lobbyist group representing county elected officials told lawmakers Monday that they have taken no official stance on a constitutional amendment on the November ballot that would give lawmakers the authority to lower or eliminate property taxes, but a full elimination could mean substantial losses to county budgets.
Members of the Joint Committee on Finance heard from Jonathan Adler, executive director of the West Virginia Association of Counties, the lobbyist group that represents county commissions and other county elected officials.
“The association does not have a position at this time. We’ve not taken a vote one way or the other,” Adler told lawmakers. “We want to go forward in a good faith effort.”
Adler was joined by county assessors from Tucker, Harrison, Monongalia, and Randolph counties. Adler and the county assessor group presented data to the committee showing county real tax dollar assessments covering tax years 2015 through 2021 for all 55 counties. The assessor group worked with Fairmont-based information technology company Global Science and Technology Inc. to collect the data…