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.

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The DOJ’s request, reportedly sent to almost every state, seeks registered voters’ personal data including their Social Security number, driver’s license number, and other sensitive identifiers.

The written response from the WV Secretary of State’s Office to the DOJ reflects that Warner’s office was told the federal agency wanted to run the state’s entire list “through the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (‘SAVE’) database, which is administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Verification Division.”

In his response, Warner’s attorneys note that the West Virginia Secretary of State is already a user of that database.

“West Virginians entrust me with their sensitive personal information. Turning it over to the federal government, which is contrary to State law, will simply not happen,” Warner said. “State law is clear: voter lists are available in a redacted format from my office, but I’ll not be turning over any West Virginian’s protected information.”

Warner emphasized that on February 10, a Trump-appointed Federal Judge dismissed the DOJ’s lawsuit against the Michigan Secretary of State who also refused to turn over voters’ personal data. The Judge ruled that no federal law, including the Help America Vote Act, National Voter Registration Act, or Civil Rights Act of 1960, give the DOJ authority to demand and receive states’ unredacted voter registration files.

“My responsibility is first and foremost to the citizens of West Virginia,” Warner added. “We will comply with the law, which does not allow us to release protected data. We have offered to work cooperatively with the federal government to maintain the continuity of elections nationwide, but the DOJ doesn’t have authority to run a state’s elections. I support efforts to strengthen election integrity, but I will not break the law, give up our State’s rights, or compromise the privacy of our citizens.”

The Secretary of State’s Office reports that in the last nine years, more than 408,000 outdated, abandoned, out of state, or otherwise ineligible voter registration records have been cancelled. At the same time, more than 350,000 new voter registrations have been added to the rolls.

“The DOJ claims it wants to enforce voter list maintenance laws and receiving West Virginians’ personal information is the way to do it,” Warner said. “I dare say that the DOJ cannot do a better job than the 55 West Virginia county clerks who have accomplished the herculean task of refreshing more than half of the State’s voter rolls over the last 9 years, and continue to do so on a daily basis.”

Warner reaffirmed that ensuring transparency in elections does not require sacrificing the privacy rights of voters.

“West Virginians expect secure elections and the assurance that their personal information is protected,” Warner said. “That remains my commitment, and I have no interest in turning over the entire State’s unredacted voter list for some brownie points from the federal government. Indeed, we each have our roles in election integrity, but this request is far outside the federal government’s lane.”

Information on West Virginia elections can be found at GoVoteWV.com.

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County school officials have approved the date of a special levy election in Morgan County as May 12, West Virginia’s primary election date.

Members of the Morgan County Board of Education on February 3 voted in favor of the date and unanimously approved the text of the levy election order, which will appear on the ballot before voters.

County voters will be asked whether or not to renew the four-year local school tax, and extend it through the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2030.

School board members voted to keep the special levy rate where it has been for several rounds of renewal, rather than raise it to the allowable level under West Virginia law.

If passed, the special levy locally would raise $5,560,984 each tax year for expenses in Morgan County Schools.

The levy rate being proposed to voters is 32.16 cents were $100 of assessed value of their owner-occupied property, also known as Class II property – the largest category of taxable property in Morgan County. Owners of Class III property – commercial properties or second homes – would pay 64.32 cents per $100 of assessed value under the special school tax.

Of the $5,560,984 in special levy revenue that could be collected, the school board approved the following uses:

— $2,558,052 for local salary rates, including payroll taxes, Social Security, Unemployment, Workers Compensation and benefits for school personnel to “employ and retain qualified personnel to provide a high-quality education for the children of Morgan County”

— $1,557,932 to support critical education programs like alternative ed and prevention resources, academic enrichment and remediation, social and emotional support, health and wellbeing, extracurricular activities, STEM and vocational programs,

— $500,000 for security, operations and facility maintenance

— $370,000 for capital improvements or repairs or purchase of property

— $125,000 for technology access, hardware, software, repair and training

— $400,000 for instructional materials, programs, textbooks and equipment

— $50,000 to support libraries — the Morgan County Public Library at $30,000 and Paw Paw Public Library at $20,000.

Not excess, but necessary

School board president Aaron Close pointed out that the tax rate of the levy had not gone up from prior renewals.

“We have not increased a rate for this levy for the taxpayer of Morgan County,” Close said. “In my humble opinion, the general levy hasn’t funded schools to the level it needs to do…the Excess Levy is not excess, it is funding for what schools and students need to be funded adequately.”

Board member John Rowland agreed that the local school tax shouldn’t be termed “excess” since it is needed to put Morgan County teacher salaries on par with nearby counties – particularly Berkeley and Jefferson counties.

“Maybe we’ll see change in a state aid formula that’s antiquated, really,” he said.

Superintendent Banks agreed with Rowland on the matter of school salaries.

“We have to remain competitive. We owe it to our kids to put the best people in front of them every day,” he said.

Banks added that a school system’s costs can be unpredictable, and that having one or two students with intense special needs can add to the number of staff you have to have in a school setting.

“One student can cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars, but you have to take care of every student the best you can,” Banks said.

He noted that the State Legislature is taking a look at some of the costs for serving high-needs students to move those costs off of individual counties.

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A postmark from the United States Postal Service (USPS) has long served for the public as an official confirmation of the date that a mail item was sent, especially items like tax returns or documents that have to meet certain time deadlines.

Now, those who use the U.S. Postal Service may not be guaranteed that the day they mail an item is the date that mail item will be stamped with an official postmark.

This matters when it comes to filing taxes, sending election forms or casting ballots by mail, among other occasions.

West Virginia Secretary of State Kris Warner issued a statement on the matter last month.

“Even if a document is mailed on time, USPS warns that it may not be postmarked until the following day. This could result in missed deadlines for tax filings, candidate certificates of announcement, voter registrations, absentee ballots, and business renewals. Missing these deadlines often leads to disqualifications, late fees, penalties, or legal issues,” Warner said in a press release.

U.S. Postal Service officials have said this is not a change in how they have long done business, but customers and others – including election officials – have brough the matter to public attention because of its importance.

According to the U.S. Postal Service, there is no change in their postmarking practice, but they have changed their “transportation operations” from originating post offices or mailboxes to regional processing facilities.

“[T]hat will result in some mailpieces not arriving at our originating processing facilities on the same day that they are mailed. This means that the date on the postmarks applied at our processing facilities will not necessarily match the date on which the customer’s mailpiece was collected by a letter carrier or dropped off at a retail location,” the U.S. Postal Service has said in their “Postmarking Myths and Facts.”

Updates to U.S. Postal procedures were proposed in August of 2025 and published in November 2025 after a public comment period.

Local postmarks available

Postal customers can ask for their item to be postmarked by hand, however, if they take that item to a post office during business hours and request a local postmark.

“As before, a customer can ensure that a postmark is applied to his or her mailpiece, and that the date on the postmark matches the date of mailing, by visiting a Postal Service retail location and requesting a manual (local) postmark at the retail counter when tendering their mailpiece. Manual postmarks will be applied free of charge,” the U.S. Postal Service wrote in their recent statement.

Postal officials say that the traditional use and meaning of the postmark – as an acknowledgement and stamped record of when and where an item was mailed – is a myth.

“A postmark date does not necessarily indicate the first day that the Postal Service took possession of the mailpiece. Rather, it confirms that the Postal Service accepted custody of a mailpiece, and that the mailpiece was in the possession of the Postal Service on the identified date.” the USPS website says.

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U.S. Attorney Harvey was nominated by President Donald J. Trump on June 30, 2025, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on October 7, 2025.

U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh administered the oath of office to U.S. Attorney Harvey and the Honorable Shelley Moore Capito, United States Senator, read the Presidential Proclamation before friends, family, and colleagues.

“I am grateful that President Trump has entrusted me to enforce the law, keep our communities safe, and stand with law enforcement,” said Harvey.

The Investiture Ceremony was attended by former United States Attorneys, Federal Judges, lawmakers, colleagues, staff, Harvey’s family, and friends. Messages of congratulations were shared by Senator Capito, the Honorable Riley Moore, United States Congressman, as well as video messages from the Honorable Jim Justice, United States Senator, and the Honorable Carol Miller, United States Congresswoman.

Randall Reid-Smith, with Senator Justice’s office, sang the National Anthem. The Jefferson High School ROTC presented the colors at the ceremony and were invited as honored guests by U.S. Attorney Harvey. Shepherd University President Dr. Mary Hendrix and the Shepherd University Ram Marching Band also helped to celebrate the day. The ceremony was followed by a reception hosted by U.S. Attorney Harvey’s family.

As U.S. Attorney, Mr. Harvey oversees the prosecution of federal crimes including violent crime, narcotics trafficking, public corruption, financial fraud, and offenses impacting vulnerable populations. He also supervises civil litigation on behalf of the United States, defending federal agencies and advancing the government’s legal interests.

Mr. Harvey previously served as the Prosecuting Attorney for Jefferson County, having been elected to three terms, after having served as an Assistant Prosecutor in both Berkeley and Kanawha Counties. Mr. Harvey has an extensive career within the criminal justice system. Prior to his time as the elected Prosecutor for Jefferson County, he spent six years in private practice.

From 2021 to 2022, Mr. Harvey served as president of the West Virginia Association of Counties and has been active in many civic organizations. In 2023, Harvey was appointed by then governor, James C. Justice to serve on the board of the West Virginia First Foundation. The Foundation was created to receive and disburse Opioid Funds from the state’s litigation against drug manufacturers and distributors, which are used to fund programs and services that promote the health and safety of West Virginians.

Mr. Harvey was selected by the Foundation’s board to serve as its first chairman, where he continued to serve until his confirmation by the United States Senate.

A graduate of Bluefield State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration, he went on to earn his Juris Doctorate from the Appalachian School of Law.

Harvey is a native of Monroe County and currently resides in Shepherdstown.

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reprinted with permission from the Charleston Gazette-Mail

Diabetes, obesity and “seven pillars” of health care to combat them were the topic of a panel discussion Friday, which focused heavily on the $199.5 million in grants West Virginia is set to receive through the federal Rural Healthcare Transformation Fund.

Facilitated as part of the recent passage of the federal One Big, Beautiful Bill, states will receive $100 million in rural health care funding per year for five years, with the annual option to apply for supplemental funding to accommodate unique needs. West Virginia’s 2026 supplemental application secured the state an additional $99.5 million, which state Health Secretary Arvin Singh said will help reduce the prevalence of diabetes and obesity throughout West Virginia moving forward.

Reducing diabetes & obesity rates

Speaking at the Culture Center at the Capitol Complex as part of a four-person panel during the West Virginia Press Association’s Legislative Lookahead conference, Singh told attendees, “A lot of the efforts we put into that application … focus on [diabetes and obesity]. In that five-year program, we wrote and held ourselves accountable to reducing diabetes prevalence to get out of that bottom quartile.”

According to the American Diabetes Association, 41% of West Virginians are considered medically obese, the highest obesity rate in the country. To combat this, Singh said West Virginia will adopt an “obesity-first mindset when it comes to public health,” which will include education to support healthier living.

While Singh noted the existence of penalties within the funding if specific reduction-markers are not met, he provided details of neither the markers, nor the associated financial penalties. Singh also declined to specify what “holding ourselves accountable” means.

Governor Patrick Morrisey announced on Dec. 29 that the supplemental $99.5 million is intended to address:

■ Distance between patients and medical providers

■ Lack of access to rural health care providers

■ The need for resources to support rural health care providers

■ Necessary assistance for residents to resume working after health restoration

■ Education designed to prevent adverse health outcomes through nutrition, exercise and healthy lifestyle-changes

In support of these healthy lifestyle- changes, panelists suggested one initiative will feature a statewide recommendation of higher- quality foods.

In addition to Singh, those panelists were:

■ David Goldberg, West Virginia Hospital Association chairman, who also serves as president and CEO of Mon Health Morgantown and vice-president of Vandalia Health

■ Drema Hill, vice president of community engagement and chief operations officer of West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine

■ Sen. Tom Takubo, R-Kanawha, who is a pulmonary physician

How will the RHTF grant be spent?

While West Virginia’s supplemental- application approval guarantees that the state will receive no less than $595.5 million over the next five years, numerous reporting agencies — including the Center for American Progress and the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy — have projected that the passage of the One, Big Beautiful Bill will cut as much as $1 billion of the state’s Medicaid funding, resulting in upwards of 65,000 residents potentially losing their health care coverage.

When asked for further details as to how the state will maximize the $199.5 million RHTF grant to offset the impact that such deep Medicaid cuts and significant health-coverage losses would have on an already impoverished and unhealthy state, Singh said, “I would go to the seven pillars we put in the application.”

The “seven pillars” Singh referred to, which were first announced by Morrisey in November, consist of:

1. Connected Care Grid: Build the infrastructure to bring virtual and in-person care access to people on-demand.
2. Rural Health Link: Transport West Virginians to care when it’s needed.
3. Mountain State Care Force: Recruit, train and retain the health care workforce of the future.
4. Smart Care Catalyst: Support tech-enabled innovation and regulatory relief.
5. Health to Prosperity Pipeline: Help West Virginians rebuild health, rejoin the workforce and thrive in their communities.

6. Personal Health Accelerator: Empower healthy living through food as medicine, movement and local partnerships.
7. HealthTech Appalachia: Incubate leapfrog technologies that innovate health care delivery and unlock economic growth.

“[The seven pillars] are our blueprint for moving forward, especially when it comes to access to care, workforce and bringing in innovative technologies,” Singh said. “I feel that is really going to change the trajectory of the state.”

“We have to look at health care differently,” Singh added. “How we’re doing it now is not working.”

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The Morgan County Commission has elected to follow the proclamation and the Morgan County Courthouse will close at 1 p.m. on Wednesday as well.

Here in Morgan County, the county courthouse will be closed on Thursday, November 27 and Friday, November 28 for the holiday.

State offices will also be closed on Thursday, November 27 for Thanksgiving day.

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Updated policy includes the following changes:

Expanded Age Range

The ABAWD age range will now include individuals ages 18 through 64. Individuals are considered able bodied adults without dependents beginning the month after their 18th birthday and remain so until the month they turn 65.

Removal of Certain Exemptions

Previous exemptions for veterans, individuals experiencing homelessness, and former foster youth under age 25 have been removed. Individuals in these categories must now meet able bodied adults without dependents work requirements unless they qualify for another exemption.

Dependent Definition Update

The definition for a dependent in the context of the able bodied adults without dependents exemption has been updated. Now only dependents under age 14 will qualify as an adult for exemption from work  requirements. Adults caring for youth ages 14 through 17 must meet work requirements unless otherwise exempt.

New Native American Exemption

This section also excludes “SNAP recipients who are Indians, Urban Indians, or California Indians (as these terms are defined by the Indian Health Care Improvement Act)” from able bodied adults without dependents time limits.

These changes are expected to affect approximately 36,000 SNAP recipients in West Virginia.

If you have questions, contact the DoHS Office of Constituent Services at 1-877-716-1212.

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When Town of Bath council members voted for a one-percent municipal sales tax in 2024, they joined 39 other West Virginia municipalities in putting a local tax in place.

But first, the state required elimination of the town’s business and occupation (B&O) tax, which generated $58,000 last year, according to town figures.

Bath’s new municipal sales tax was projected to collect $60,000 in revenue for the fiscal year, which runs from July 1 to June 30. The town’s budget, approved by the state, includes the municipal tax as a revenue line item in that amount.

In the first six months of 2025, a total of $165,000 has been collected through the town’s business’ tax payments to the West Virginia State Tax Department.

In the first quarter – for the months of January, February and March — $55,000 was collected through the municipal sales tax. During the second quarter – for the months of April, May and June — another $110,000 was collected, confirmed Bath mayor Greg Schene.

The amount of the municipal sales tax collected for the third quarter is expected by the end of October, said Town of Bath officials.

That will include sales tax collections for July, August and September.

The fourth quarter tax collections will include business sales during October, November and December.

Bath’s town council will authorize use of those funds.

Schene said the sales tax revenue has already gone to work for the residents and businesses in town limits.

“For a tourist-friendly destination like the Town of Bath, the 1% Municipal Sales Tax allows the community to capture revenue from visitors and shoppers, bringing in outside dollars to support local needs,” Schene said in an email to The Morgan Messenger. “These funds help pay for essential services and improvements—such as streets, sidewalks, public safety, and beautification projects—without shifting the full financial burden onto local property taxpayers. In fact, revenue from this tax has already contributed to the successful completion of three street paving projects in the last six months. This added investment improves the quality of life for residents while making the community more attractive to businesses and visitors alike,” he said.

The Town of Bath’s next finance committee meeting, which meets separate from the Bath Council, will be held at Town Hall on Tuesday, November 4 at 4 p.m.

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“We recognize the importance of our parks to the local economy and hardworking West Virginians, as well as the many visitors who want to enjoy our state’s natural beauty,” said Morrisey.

New River Gorge National Park and Preserve and Harpers Ferry National Historical Park are currently open to visitors and are expected to return to full operations in the next few days, said the governor’s office.

In response to questions from the press, the governor’s office said West Virginia provided $97,986 to the National Park Service to cover the operational costs of the New River Gorge and Harper’s Ferry visitors centers for 14 days.

Of the total donation, $66,509 is for Harpers Ferry and $31,477 goes toward the New River Gorge operations, said the governor’s press office.

Officials said West Virginia will not be reimbursed for those funds when the shutdown ends but any unused money will be returned to the state if the government reopens sooner than the 14-day period covered under the arrangement.

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