Calhoun’s regional jail bill has been a source of contention for many years with few means of Calhoun keeping current on it until Trans Canada (The White Oak Station) began creating revenue for the County.
It was with that source of funding that the county was able to begin budgeting for the extremely large Regional Jail bill. During the past Calhoun had managed to rack up an $800,000 Regional Jail bill which has now been paid in full. Were it not for that payment being made, Calhoun County elected officials would not have been able to get the raises currently recommended by the State Auditors office.
Senate Bill 172, passed during this years legislative session, gave county government the option to raise base rate salaries up to 10% for sheriffs, county clerks, assessors, prosecuting attorneys and the county commissioners. There has not been an amendment in the state code allowing a pay increase since 2014.
At the present time, fifty one of the fifty five West Virginia Counties met the financial standards required to raise officials salaries. The bill mandated that the State Auditors office analyze the counties to determine if they were in financial standing suitable for raising salaries. The four unable to meet those standards were Clay, Lincoln, McDowell and Webster.
Last fiscal year, Webster County owed more than $2.7 million in unpaid regional jail bills. Lincoln County owed $1.8 million in unpaid jail bills, followed by Clay and Logan Counties owing $1.2 million each. McDowell County owed $1.1 million and Calhoun County was 6th highest in the State owing $522,998, which we know went higher later in the year.
According to an article in the Charleston Gazette, Auditor JB McCuskey attended a Kanawha County Commission meeting where he stated that the reason was “pretty obvious” why 51 counties qualified and those four did not. “The biggest glaring difference is that they owe seven figures in jail bills to the State.” A matter Calhoun managed to avoid by paying their $800,000 bill in full.
Calhoun has currently budgeted $250,000 for this fiscal year from the Trans Canada funding. Budgeting does not mean that cash is in hand, but rather that it’s expected. And while $250,000 is a sizable amount, that amount too can go up or down depending upon the number of inmates housed at the Central Regional Jail.
A question to be asked by County Constituents is “Are we spending funding where it should be spent?” While the Regional Jail bill certainly needed to be paid, was it the highest of priorities, and was there even any other consideration of where that funding could be used. Transparency has gotten better in recent months as the community has begun appearing at the County Commission Meetings to ask questions. However, when it was determined that $1.4 million dollars of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding came through, little discussion was made before it was determined to be given toward the multi county Broadband project. Making us the highest in the State for contribution to that project. One of the poorest counties in the state facing the highest of unemployment rates of 10.8% gave the most money toward Broadband.
Again, it’s not a question as to whether or not we need better broadband, the question remains to be answered as to if there were other county needs that could have been addressed before throwing all of our money into one pot. The American Rescue Plan Act that passed in congress in March of 2021 was intended to help communities recover from the negative impacts of COVID-19. County Commissioners had the flexibility to use the funds to meet many different local needs. Under the advisement of the U.S. Treasury, County Commissions were “urged to engage their constituents and communities in developing plans to use these payments to catalyze broader recovery and rebuilding.” Engaging the community has been a major issue in Calhoun County for several years.
There were five key areas approved for usage for ARPA funding identified by the Treasury
- Support Public Health Expenditures: Fund COVID-19 mitigation efforts, medical expenses, behavioral health care and certain county public health, public safety, human services and other related staff.
- Address Negative Economic Impacts: Respond to economic harms to workers, families, small businesses, impacted industries and rehiring of public sector workers (including county staff).
- Replace Public Sector Revenue Loss: Use funds to provide government services to the extent of the reduction in revenue experienced during the pandemic.
- Premium Pay for Essential Workers: Offer additional compensation, up to $13 per hour in additional wages, to those – both county employees and other essential workers in the community – who have faced and continue to face the greatest health risks due to their service. Funds can be used retroactively back to January 27, 2020.
- Water, Sewer and Broadband Infrastrusture: Make necessary investments to improve access to clean drinking water, invest in wastewater and stormwater infrastrusture and provide unserved or underserved locations with new or expanded broadband access.
The goal of this article is not to create more contention in County meetings, but rather to help the community understand that citizens should have more of an impact on the decisions of local government; and the only way to do that is to attend local meeting, and educate ourselves on what funding comes in, what funding goes out and why did it go out in that way?
