Marion County officials thankful for the failure of Amendment 2

Nov. 10—FAIRMONT — Marion County officials are breathing a sigh of relief after learning that West Virginia voters rejected Amendment 2.

Amendment 2, also known as the Property Tax Modernization Act, was intended to entice businesses to move to West Virginia by amending the state constitution to allow the legislature to remove the tax on inventory and machinery.

In addition, the amendment would also allow for the removal of the motor vehicle tax imposed on the general public.

The amendment came under fire from all directions as counties realized that removing this tax would severely cut into their budgets and impact the services provided by counties.

In Marion County, the board of education held several meetings to educate the public on the damage Amendment 2 could do to their budget.

The Charleston-based West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy estimates that if the legislature was allowed to remove those taxes, that could cause a 20 percent reduction in the county schools' budget.

That worry has been lifted off the shoulders of the district and off the shoulders of Marion County School Superintendent Donna Hage.

"We were very pleased with the results of Amendment 2 not passing," Hage said. "Our goal was educating voters and providing information so they could make informed decisions, and I think our voters really spoke about the importance of localized control."

Local control was a focal point by voices against the four proposed amendments that were on the ballot. Amendments 1, 2 and 4, if passed, would've given the legislature more power in some form or another.

West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy Executive Director Kelly Allen said she was surprised that all four of the proposed amendments failed to pass, but the results showed that West Virginians care about how their state is governed.

"I was surprised all four failed, but I think it was for that reason that they were really about consolidating power in the state legislature," Allen said. "I think this was a rejection of concentrating more power in Charleston and a vote in favor of local officials having a say in the services they provide."

Over 60 percent of Marion County voters rejected Amendments 1, 2 and 4, which mirrored statewide results

One of the officials who would have been faced with the toughest decisions were county assessors. Had property taxes been lifted and seized by Charleston, counties would be left to find the necessary money elsewhere.

Marion County Assessor Mark Trach expressed worry about this earlier this fall when attending a workshop about Amendment 2 with the Marion County School Board.

Now that the public voted down the amendment, Trach is relieved that the county won't have to resort to raising real property taxes or other measures to make up the lost dollars.

"I was glad that it did not pass. All of the assessors in their respective counties went around and spoke about the negatives of the amendment, hoping to get the word out," Trach said. "The big thing is we didn't want the legislature to have control over the money from the personal property. If they got rid of those taxes, in Marion County... that'd cost us around $9 million."

Amendment 2 was also the focus of multiple town hall meetings led by Gov. Jim Justice. He went on the offensive to educate the public about the amendment while also using the platform to promote his desire to eliminate the state income tax and the automobile tax.

Reach David Kirk at 304-367-2522 or by email at dkirk@timeswv.com.