PARKERSBURG — West Virginia’s treasurer is touting the state’s good financial position while looking at places where growth and development can occur.

West Virginia Treasurer Larry Pack was in Wood County Thursday, talking with groups and elected officials about the challenges they face in job development, housing, education and more.

“We are traveling around the state to understand the local issues better,” he said. “Although it is a small state, it is a very diverse state.

“Each county has its own identity and own issues.”

He visited Wood County Christian School near Williamstown; met with county officials at the Wood County Resiliency Center; met with the mayors of Parkersburg and Vienna; and attended a Workforce West Virginia event where seven young men were awarded certificates and will be starting careers in the trades.

Pack said West Virginia’s Rainy Day Fund is the largest its ever been, at $1.3 billion, while pensions are basically fully funded and the state’s credit ratings are good.

“We have the most money in our accounts that we have ever had in the history of our state,” he said. “We are in excellent shape financially. Two years ago passed the largest tax cut in history and gave back citizens over $1 billion a year.”

Pack said the state will have a budget surplus of $200 to $300 million this year. Officials will continue to look at the long range financial position of the state and push policies to put it in an even better financial position, with a goal of eliminating personal income tax rates, he added.

At Wood County Christian School, Pack said, he found out how the Hope Scholarship has been impacting schools and how parents are responding to it. The scholarship allows K-12 students to receive financial assistance that can be used for tuition, home school curriculum and other qualifying expenses.

“We learned a little bit there that we can take back and hopefully administer the program better,” Pack said.

Pack was in the House of Delegates in 2021 when they passed the legislation creating the HOPE Scholarship. The first year there were around 2,000 students, last year there were 5,000 and this year around 11,000.

“Parents are seeking out options and choices in different educational paths for their children,” Pack said. “We are thinking there could be around 20,000 students for next year.”

Those options include home schooling, microschools, online schools, private schools and other alternatives that parents can consider.

In his meetings with city and county officials, there was concern about job development, the shortage of available housing and what might be done at the state level to reduce the burden on developers, lower taxes, help with infrastructure and more. County officials were concerned about the Regional Jail bill which has been putting a strain on a number of counties around the state.

City officials were pleased that federal workers are back in the office as that has brought some energy back to the downtown area, Pack said.

Pack said windmills pay very little  property taxes to county governments around the state as opposed to how other energy is taxed. He said his office wants to “level the playing field” so those energy sources pay their fair share, which in turn will benefit schools in their areas.

His office has a number of bills they are following through the current state legislative session, including proposed term limits for the Board of Public Works. The bill would restrict the state auditor, treasurer, secretary of state, agriculture commissioner and attorney general to three terms.

“All of the current officeholders are supporting this legislation,” Pack said. “We have had some people stay in these offices from 20, 30 to 40 years.

“We strongly believe that turnover is good and that no one should own an office. We are encouraging the Legislature to pass these resolutions and put them on the ballot for next year.”

There are businesses considering locating in West Virginia and along the Ohio River with both river and rail access. There is activity in revitalizing plants and developing business along the Ohio River.

“In order to take advantage of that, we need to lessen some of the regulations that we have,” Pack said. “What these businesses want is lower taxes, but also fair taxes. They want infrastructure, and they want Charleston to be responsive to their needs.”