MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The Morgantown Area Partnership (MAP) President & CEO Russ Rogerson has been out in the community conducting education sessions regarding Amendment 2, the Property Tax Modernization Amendment up for a statewide vote in the Nov. 8 General Election.
Rogerson said if approved by voters the measure transfers property taxation authority for personal property(vehicles), business inventory, equipment and machinery from counties to the state legislature.
“There are no other plans or anything that’s been presented,” Rogerson said on WAJR’s “Talk of the Town.” “So, what the partnership has done is take a stance of educating our members on the issue, both pro and con, to make sure they are the best educated and informed voters.”
Rogerson said the tax structure of every state is scrutinized then ranked by economists, business experts, even other states and those results circulate freely. Any change to the tax structure will have some effect on how potential businesses view West Virginia as a place to do business.
“Where we rank nationally or with our neighbors when a business knows they need to be in this geographic area of the country is factored in before the phone even rings,” Rogerson said.
Rogerson said MAP serves 530 members, a wide cross section of the local economy. Because of the diverse nature of membership Rogerson said the educational approach allows him to learn more about businesses survive and thrive in Monongalia County.
“Each company has different push points that are very important to them whether it’s a customer that’s close by, but where the costs hit them structurally is what you have to understand as a business recruiter,” Rogerson said.
The education campaign has used social media, email blasts and public forums. But, having the opportunity to get candidates in front of the members gives them an understanding how they would legislate if the amendment is approved.
“We invited all the folks running for election, federal to local, and Amendment Two were some of the questions we presented to the candidates so we understand were they stand of these important issues,” Rogerson said.
Rogerson said the amendment itself is not hard to understand once it’s explained, but the future passage would bring has been the most often issue that comes up. Most continue to question the ability of state lawmakers to fill an estimated budget hole of $550 million annually for counties.
“The discussion around this has been based on after this amendment passes, what happens so that’s where most opinions come into play,” Rogerson said. “Obviously that’s an unknown.”
Early voting for the election begins this Wednesday.