by Kate Shunney
The Morgan County Assessor’s annual Certificate of Valuation was released to taxing bodies on March 3, setting out the values of various classes of real estate, personal property and public utility property for the 2026 assessment year.
Morgan County’s taxable property is valued at $1,506,704,740. That figure is up $106,128,531 from March of 2025, when the county’s tax base was valued at $1,400,576,209. The new figures signal a value growth of 7.57% in that year.
The Certificate of Valuation is used by the Morgan County Commission, Morgan County Board of Education, Town of Bath and Town of Paw Paw in formulating their budgets for the coming fiscal year, as it recaps the value of the tax base for the county and the two municipalities.
Assessor Debbie Weaver delivered the annual certificate the officials prior to the start of budget meetings set by the county. 
Owner-occupied homes, residential property and farms – assessed as Class II property — account for the largest portion of county values. Those properties located outside of the two municipalities make up $1.035 billion of the total county value figure. That value includes $1.031 billion in real estate and $3.85 million in personal property.
Commercial properties, including vacation homes – assessed as Class III property — make up the next largest category of value classification with a total value of $421,282,193. That figure includes $217 million in real estate, $136 million in personal property and $67 million in utility property.
Class IV property – all real and personal property located inside the county’s two municipalities – is valued at $50,322,902 in 2026. That figure includes $31.5 million in real estate, $6.4 million in personal property and $12.4 million in utility property.
This year’s increase in overall county values has moved Morgan County to a Class II county under West Virginia code. Class II counties have an assessed valuation of $1.5 billion to $1.99 billion. As a result, Morgan County’s elected officials will see a small salary increase, as prescribed by Chapter 7, Article 7 of State Code.
Town of Bath
Property inside the county’s two municipalities grew in value between 2025 and 2026.
Real estate, utility property and personal property rose in value in the Town of Bath by 9.8% in 2026. Bath’s property is valued at $54.8 million, including $17.6 million in residential homes and $26.7 million in non-residential real estate, plus $5.6 million in utility property.
Bath’s total value is up from $49.9 million in 2025, approaching a double-digit growth in assessed value. Most of the gain was seen in residential real estate, which grew 13.35% in value since 2025. Utility values also saw double-digit growth, rising 11% since last year.
Town of Paw Paw
In the Town of Paw Paw, assessed values rose to $20.9 million, up 4.85% from $19.96 million in 2025.
Paw Paw’s residential real estate values were assessed at $7.64 million, up from $6.69 million last year – a 14.23% increase in that time.
Paw Paw personal property was valued at $130,416 – up from $120,624 in 2025.
Commercial property in Paw Paw is valued at $4,676,130, up from $4,475,980 last year.
Marking the only decrease in values for the whole county, Paw Paw’s commercial personal property values dropped by $81,986 to $1.577 million this year. Paw Paw’s utility property also declined in value, from $7 million last year to $6.8 million this year, a 2.88% drop.
Each of the government bodies in Morgan County will adopt a levy rate – next year’s tax rate – during public meetings in April as required by state law.
The Morgan County Board of Education will adopt their Levy Rates on April 21.
The Morgan County Commission will also adopt their levy rate on April 21.
Each town must also set their levy rate by April 21. The Town of Bath has a regular meeting on that date. The Town of Paw Paw normally meets on the first Monday of the month but can set a special meeting to set their levy rate.
That tax rate will be multiplied against the assessed value of real estate and personal property to calculate the tax bills property owners will receive in July.
