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BOE approves rate adjustment

ELKINS — Randolph County Board of Education members unanimously approved a budget adjustment Monday during a special meeting at the board’s office.

Brad Smith, the county’s finance director, said the change does not affect rates for any taxpayers. Smith said he has been preparing the fiscal year 2018 budget, and he made a slight overcalculation based on a clerical error.

Since the BOE had approved the projected net taxes during a meeting last week, Smith said the board should approve the adjusted projections as a precautionary measure.

“The Class II property numbers were pulled incorrectly,” Smith said, explaining he looked at numbers from the wrong column. “It was basically a clerical error, but that doesn’t change rates for any taxpayers in Randolph County.”

He said the county assessor provides totals each February of the county’s assessed values for real estate and personal property. He takes that information and works up a projected budget based on levy rates that are set each year by the West Virginia Legislature.

Once the BOE approves the estimated levy projections, Smith passes them to the West Virginia State Auditor’s Office. He said that office checks the rates for accuracy and ended up catching the clerical error.

In addition to correcting the projection and submitting it to the county board for approval, Smith already has scheduled corrected legal advertisements.

“We’re still in compliance with all our requirements,” he said.

The correct Class II assessed value for real estate and personal property is $551,138,438. The projected taxes levied on that amount are $2,138,417.

The total projected net taxes to be collected for Randolph County are $7,329,485.

The mistaken overcalculation resulted in an incorrect net projection of $7,562,099.

Board President Donna Auvil thanked Smith for all his efforts on the budget over the years and for quickly working on the adjustment.

Smith said the county’s budget will be finalized near the end of May, and it will be presented to the county board for approval at that time.

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