 |
The Assessor is elected by the voters of the county for a four year term. Under the West Virginia Constitution , it is the duty of the County Assessor to determine the value of real and personal property for the purpose of taxation. The Assessor also collects the county and local dog taxes and determines the eligibility of property owners for the $20,000 homestead exemption.
The role of the Assessor in the property taxation process is frequently misunderstood. People often say that the Assessor raised their taxes, but in reality, the Assessor's only role is to fairly determine the "true and actual" value of real and personal property.
Our founding fathers, always suspicious of individual authority , were hesitant to give the power of taxation to a single government official. Therefore they divided the responsibilities between the Assessor, the Levying Bodies, and the Sheriff. The Assessor fairly assigns actual value. The Levying Bodies such as the Legislature of WV, the Board of education, the County Commission, and the City Council set their budgets and the rate of taxation (the levy rate). The Sheriff then mails the tax bills and collects the taxes.
The taxpayers of Monongalia County can be assured all personnel who establish value of real or personal property must be certified by course work and pass examinations sponsored by the state of West Virginia.
Eleven (11) members of the Monongalia County Assessor's Office have Bachelor's Degrees and five (5) members have Masters Degrees. The Assessor and eight (8) staff members have additional appraisal training above the minimum level required by the state. The Assessor's Office Staff has over 450 years of cumulative experience identifying, listing, and valuing real and personal property.
|