CHARLESTON — Gov. Jim Justice chaired his final meeting as the head of the West Virginia Board of Public Works, with Attorney General Patrick Morrisey preparing to succeed him as he heads to the U.S. Senate. 

“I just want to thank you all,” Justice told his fellow Board of Public Works members in brief remarks at the end of their Wednesday meeting.

The Board of Public Works resumed a meeting originally convened on Oct. 1 to receive comments from public utility companies with concerns over their tentative assessed values for tax year 2025 set by the state Tax Division.

The Board of Public Works received the tentative tax assessments in October. The tentative assessed value of public service business property for tax year 2025 beginning next year is more than $15 billion, representing an increase of more than $884 million in assessed value compared to tax year 2024 of more than $14.1 billion. That’s a 6.25% increase from tax year 2024 and a 13.64% increase from tax year 2023.

Representatives of Rover Pipeline LLC, Inspire Energy, and TC Energy spoke to the Board of Public Works seeking clarifications of their assessed values. The Tax Division agreed to further conversations with those companies ahead of any final approval of valuations, which will be done when the Board of Public Works returns from recess in January of next year.

Although most real and personal property is assessed at the local level by county assessors with county commissions approving the final rates, the Board of Public Works approves the real and personal property values of public utilities whose properties stretch across two or more counties. Rather than have each of the 55 assessors determine the value, the property is appraised and assessed by the Tax Division.

The types of utilities include airlines, private bridge owners, bus companies, electric providers, natural gas providers, non-cellular communication (paging services), railroads and carlines, pipelines, cell phone companies, private sewer services, landline telephone services, underground gas storage, water and water/sewer services.

The Board of Public Works consists of Justice and the state’s elected constitutional officers: Morrisey, Secretary of State Mac Warner, Agriculture Commissioner Kent Leonhardt, State Auditor J.B. McCuskey and State Treasurer Riley Moore. State Superintendent of Schools Michele Blatt, who participated Wednesday by phone, is also a member of the board. Both Leonhardt and Moore were represented by proxies.

After this month, only Leonhardt and Blatt will have their current positions on the board. Morrisey won election in November as the state’s next governor. McCuskey will slide from state auditor to attorney general after winning his election last month. 

Department of Revenue Secretary Larry Pack will succeed Moore after the latter won his election to succeed Alex Mooney as the next congressman for the 2nd Congressional District. Warner will be succeeded as secretary of state by his brother, Economic Development Authority Executive Director Kris Warner, after Mac Warner was defeated by Morrisey in the May Republican primary for governor.

The Board of Public Works on Wednesday also approved several state property transfers and agreed to grant relief at the urging of the Tax Division to King Street Wireless LP for an erroneous assessment for tax year 2024.