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Monongalia County Commission sends letters after $422,259.68 TIF payment; asks Westover and school board to refund shares
Summary
The Monongalia County Commission on March 19 approved letters to levying bodies after the county advanced $422,259.68 to a TIF trustee to cover a bond payment and will seek reimbursement from the City of Westover and the local Board of Education.
MONONGALIA COUNTY, W.Va. — The Monongalia County Commission on March 19 approved letters to levying bodies notifying them that the county advanced $422,259.68 to a tax-increment financing (TIF) trustee to meet a bond payment and will seek reimbursement from those levying jurisdictions.
Commissioners said the shortfall stemmed from tax increments that were not included in earlier TIF calculations after parcel splits involving a Menards parcel. County staff said the county paid the trustee in order to meet a bond payment deadline and is now asking the City of Westover and the Board of Education to refund their shares.
The commission’s action puts formal notice into each jurisdiction’s budget process, but the commission said there is no set timetable for refunding the county. Staff said the jurisdictions can reimburse the county by direct payment or the county can deduct amounts from future proceeds as collections come in over the summer.
County staff described the background as follows: at issue were incremental assessments not included in the TIF calculations after parcels were split; those increments were remitted to levying bodies as regular property tax instead of to the TIF fund. The county verified the amounts, advanced the payment to the trustee to avoid missing a bond payment, and then prepared letters asking Westover and the Board of Education to refund their share.
Commissioners said the total the county paid was $422,259.68. The transcript records figures read for the portions attributed to Westover and to the school board, but those figures were not clearly transcribed in the meeting record provided; the county file includes a draft letter with the specific allocations for each levying body.
The commission approved the letters by voice vote; all three commissioners present voted yes.
What happens next: the letters will be sent to the levying bodies while they prepare their budgets. County officials said they expect further discussions with the City of Westover and the Board of Education to explain the amounts and options for refunding the county.
