Director's Discussion with Vivian Parsons
We are preparing for the 2012 Annual Conference to be held August 5-8, at the Mountaineer Resort, in Hancock County. If you haven't already made plans to attend, please reconsider! We have lots of good information to share with you so it will be a very packed agenda.
I am just returning from our National Association of Counties Conference held in Pittsburgh, PA. We had over twenty WV delegates participating. I attended several good workshops and plan to "borrow" a couple for our future meetings! NACo 1st Vice President Linda Langston will join us as a guest speaker for the CCAWV August Annual Meeting. Also on the NACo front, the CCAWV Board has been working diligently with NACo on the Association endorsement of the County Prescription Drug Card Program. I am very excited to report that the endorsement process has moved forward and promises to provide a new CCAWV membership benefit for 2013, called "Two for the Price of One!". You'll hear more about this at the upcoming CCAWV Conference, stay tuned!
Director's Discussion
Legislative Session 2012 is over. As anticipated in presidential election years, and with a lagging economy, the session was a little slow and the legislation actually passed, was somewhat sparse for counties. Approaching our proposed 2012 agenda with these things in mind, CCAWV kept our priorities to a minimum. Our game plan was to look for new revenue sources, but above all, protect the current county resources and programs from erosion. In this context, I think we had a successful session. Several negative bullets were dodged and a few good things succeeded passage. Some good things, as in all sessions, were lost along the way.
We were very pleased that SB 487 passed. This bill broadens the definition of “economic development authority” so that all qualifying counties will have access to their share of coalbed methane severance taxes. Some county’s shares have been on hold in the Treasurer’s office for tax years 2009, 2010, and 2011. We were also pleased for passage of SB 362 that authorizes the issuance of $52.5 million in bonds for capital improvements for Cacapon Resort State Park (Morgan County) and Beech Fork State Park (Wayne County). Congratulations to the Morgan and Wayne County Commissioners on their diligent efforts! The debt service on these bonds will be paid from an additional allocation from the State Excess Lottery Revenue Fund.
CCAWV Regional Trainings
In June, CCAWV held a series of regional trainings across the state. The free sessions covered a number of important human resource topics, as well as a legislative wrap-up and the unveiling of an exciting collaborative effort.
Vivian Parsons, CCAWV Executive Director, provided a summary of the 2015Legislative Session, highlighting legislation thatwill affect counties. Additionally, she outlinedimpending changes to PERS and providedinformation for upcoming webinars.
$1 Million Available to take down Blighted, Dangerous structures
When the Fayette County Beautification Committee demolishes a dilapidated, abandoned structure, those living near the site often tell them of others in the area that should meet the same fate.
“Every time one goes down, we hear about one or two more that need to go,” said Angela Gerald, project director for the committee. “It really does look 100 percent better.”
The committee has been using one of the West Virginia Housing Development Fund’s signature programs for the last few years. To date, Gerald said her committee has razed 10 structures. Thanks to a bill passed during the 2015 Session of the West Virginia Legislature and signed into law by Governor Earl Ray Tomblin, the program is evolving.
CCAWV Annual Conference – Play Ball!
CCAWV’s annual conference and the State Auditor’s training is quickly approaching! This year, the conference will take place at the Waterfront Place Hotel in Morgantown, August 9th through the 11th.
This year’s meeting theme is “Play Ball!” We encourage you to wear t-shirts or jerseys in support of your favorite team to the evening events.
Please plan to join us for our Sunday evening “Kickoff” reception, featuring special guest speaker Tony Caridi! We are excited to have Mr. Caridi, “the most recognizable sports voice” in West Virginia, join us! We couldn’t think of a more appropriate way to begin our program, and are thrilled he is able to join us.
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