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Jefferson County Commission approves payroll, payments, appointments and new early voting location; JCDA expansion approved 3–2
Summary
The commission approved multiple finance items totaling more than $2 million in disbursements, confirmed appointments to county boards, set the 2026 early voting site at the courthouse annex and voted 3–2 to expand the Jefferson County Development Authority board.
The Jefferson County Commission on Aug. 7 approved a series of routine and substantive items, including accounts payable, payroll and appointments, and set the early voting site for 2026.
Commissioners approved accounts payable batches of $336,648.43 (July 24), $611,653.07 (July 31) and $30,162.40 (Aug. 7), and three sets of manual checks totaling $1,464,609.76 across dates approved during the meeting. The commission also approved payroll for Aug. 1 in the amount of $497,172.02 and requisitions totaling $306,467.18. The approvals were recorded on separate motions and, when noted, passed without objection.
Early voting: Commissioner Steve Stolipher moved to set the early voting location for the 2026 elections at the courthouse annex at 393 North Lawrence Street in Charles Town; Commissioner Cara Keys seconded the motion, which was approved unanimously.
Appointments and board business: The commission confirmed Carlos Fonseca to the Jefferson County Parks and Recreation Commission for a three-year term and appointed multiple members to the Jefferson County Development Authority (JCDA). Commissioner Cara Keys moved to increase the JCDA board’s size to 11 members; the motion was seconded by Commissioner Mike Mood and passed by a 3–2 vote (Keys, Mood and Jack Hefestay in favor; Pasha Majdi and Steve Stolipher opposed). Following the board-size vote the commission appointed Nick Russo, Kathy Skinner, Tyler Tummolo, Mara Bauserman, David Lutman, Raymond Goodrich, Heather McIntyre, Dan Casto, Jill Upson and Todd Wilt to staggered terms as recorded.
Personnel actions: Chief Human Resources Officer Jessica James presented personnel items that were approved unanimously. The commission approved the promotion of Mason Carter to deputy director for the Department of Engineering, Planning and Zoning at a salary of $70,257 per year and the promotion of Colin Uhry to county planner at $56,650 per year. Kayla Palm was approved as Grants and Social Services Coordinator at $58,656 per year. Commissioners also appointed Tara Vann as acting director for Emergency Communications and approved a temporary salary increase, moving her from $82,597 to the Grade 9 base salary of $95,181 effective Aug. 15, 2025.
Banking decision: The commission approved using Jefferson Security Bank for collections related to a tax increment financing (TIF) account and e-911 fee collections; the banking selection passed 4–1 with Commissioner Cara Keys recorded as the lone dissent.
Other formal actions: The commission approved refunds of impact fees—$1,944.00 to Avtar Singh and Manpreet Gill (permit #24-811, permit revoked) and $9,128.00 to Joseph Stillwell/Stillwell Homes, LLC (permit #25-834)—and approved release of Performance Bond GM228027 for Shubhangini, LLC (remaining balance $177,957.00). Several fiduciary and probate motions were approved as presented by the County Clerk’s Office, and Sheriff Tom Hansen’s FY25 Equitable Sharing Agreement and Certification was approved.
The commission received an informational legal update on Charles Town Utility Board v. West Virginia American Water Company (25-0263-PWD-C) but took no action. The meeting adjourned at 1 p.m.
