Divided vote leads to Brooke Commission not seeking back taxes
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WELLSBURG -- Following a 2-1 vote by the Brooke County Commission on Tuesday, county officials won't seek to collect $4.96 million in taxes they would have received if not for an error by the West Virginia Tax Division.
Given a choice by state tax officials of accepting or rejecting the error, county Commissioners A.J. Thomas and Tom Diserio agreed to accept it.
County Commissioner Stacey Wise had moved to reject the error, but the motion died for lack of a second.
Wise said, following the meeting, the miscalculation was a clerical error on the state's part and the state has a responsibility to address it.
She noted some years ago, it was determined that Equinor, an oil and gas firm, had overpaid taxes to the county, resulting in the county reimbursing the company for those funds.
Wise said had oil and gas producers been overcharged in this case, "I assume they would want credit."
She said of the taxes not collected by the state, $3.5 million would have been paid by Southwestern Energy while about $800,000 would have come from local owners of mineral rights for wells that went into production in 2021.
Wise said of that amount, $2.96 million would have gone to the Brooke County School District, $495,000 would have gone into the county's general fund while $91,000, $106,000 and $196,000 would have been collected through levies supporting local fire departments, the county's animal shelter and its ambulance service and related services.
Thomas said he wanted to make clear the lost revenue hasn't affected the county's current budget because the funds hadn't been anticipated.
But he and Diserio sided with Wise in her disappointment in the state's error and failure to make amends for it.
Wise noted the state Tax Division has made collection of taxes from natural gas revenue its responsibility, removing a burden from county officials, but having erred, should have offered a uniform approach to rectifying the mistake.
State tax officials have said imposing a uniform means of collecting the back taxes would have violated state code. They offered to assist in collecting the lost taxes but said they could offer no assistance if the county should be sued by natural gas companies or owners of mineral rights.
Following the meeting, Thomas said potential lawsuits were a major concern.
"Just dealing with any potential litigation would cost the county," he said.
He added, "When taxpayers get a tax bill, they have a right to think it is correct."
Thomas noted it's likely the affected taxpayers have spent money they would have paid in taxes.
He said his decision wasn't an easy one, considering how the lost revenue could have been used.
Wise noted the county commission was the last of several affected counties to make a decision on the matter.
According to previous reports, more than $30 million in taxes should have been collected for active gas wells in Doddridge, Harrison, Marshall, Monongalia, Pleasants, Tyler and Wetzel counties as well as Brooke County.
Wise said the county commissions of Harrison, Monongalia, Pleasants and Wetzel counties also moved to accept the error while the county commissions of Doddridge, Marshall and Tyler counties moved to reject it.
In other business, Steve Tennant, a local member of the Federation of Humane Organizations of West Virginia, announced the county has been awarded a $20,000 grant from the West Virginia Department of Agriculture's spay and neuter program.
Donna DeJaro, director of the county's animal shelter, is expected to work with the county commission to determine how the funds will be used.
Tennant, who had encouraged the commission to apply for the grant, said the program was established to deter the overpopulation of dogs and cats using a registration fee paid by companies that produce pet food to sell their product in the state.
He said such businesses "did $128 million worth of business in West Virginia last year."
Tennant added Congress is considering passage of House Resolution 7380, which would remove the state Department of Agriculture from the inspection of pet foods sold in the state.
He said the move would eliminate funding for the grant program while placing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration solely responsible for regulating pet food, which he doesn't believe would be as stringent.
Tennant encouraged the commission to urge West Virginia's federal representatives not to support the legislation.
Also on Tuesday, the commission announced it will meet at noon each Tuesday to develop the budget for the 2024 fiscal year.