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Edison to get $1.6M less in tax money

STEUBENVILLE — Edison Local School District Superintendent Bill Beattie told the Jefferson County commissioners on Thursday the school district will receive about $1.6 million less in taxes paid by FirstEnergy due to a decrease in value for its W.H. Sammis Plant.

Beattie said he wanted school district residents to know about the decrease in tax money.

He said some of the loss will be made up by taxes from gas transmission lines installed in the county.

The auditor’s office reported the pipelines pay a tax to the county for five years and then the amount greatly decreases.

Beattie said the tax dollars from FirstEnergy represented a guaranteed number.

Lewis “Doby” Piergallini, chief deputy auditor in the real estate division, said FirstEnergy shut down units at the Sammis plant. The utility then told the state the plant’s valuation had decreased. He said the state tax department agreed.

Piergallini said Buckeye Local School District will be losing $452,000 in tax money because of a devaluation of the Cardinal Plant.

Piergallini said the loss in tax money from the utilities will be recouped in several ways. He said property values continue to increase in the county and there is new construction of homes. He said the county set a record several years ago with $500,000 in conveyance fees from property sales. The county this year so far has received about $1.1 million.

Commissioner David Maple said relying on gas and oil money is harder to predict because of its volatility.

“Any time a school district takes a million dollar hit, that is troublesome. Edison certainly needs the money,” said Commissioner Thomas Graham.

Piergallini said FirstEnergy is one of the top taxpayers in the county.

The oil and gas industry is increasing at a rapid pace in the county, according to official.

Piergallini said there were 12 producing wells in the county in 2014, 33 in 2016 and 54 through the end of the second quarter this year, based on information from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. The total natural gas production in the county in 2014 was 7.77 million cubic feet. That jumped to slightly more than 46 million cubic feet in 2016, according to ODNR.

Commissioners took no action on a request from FirstEnergy for support in petitioning the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to allow the utility to increase its inventory of coal to three months to help maintain the stability of coal-fired plants. But the commissioners noted the cost would be passed on to customers. The Department of Energy did a study of the electric grid and its risk to coal supplies in the event of a natural disaster.

Commissioner Tom Gentile said he is reluctant to support the FERC petition without additional information from FirstEnergy.

Graham noted FirstEnergy didn’t have a representative at the meeting to provide further information.

Commissioners endorsed the renewal of Steubenville’s 5-mill operating levy at the request of city Mayor Domenick Mucci. The levy provides funding for more than one-half of the budgets for the police and fire departments.

Commissioners also:

¯ Approved the purchase of 0.253 acres of land in Smithfield, behind the county highway garage, at a cost of $12,500, for the location of the new water tank for the county water and sewer department.

¯ Were informed by Gentile that he talked with U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Marietta, about supporting the Social Security office move from the Fort Steuben Mall back to the Towers on Market Street. Gentile said the lease is up in 2020 but work will begin next year to find a location. He asked Even Scurti, county port authority executive director, to assist in paperwork for the lease proposal.

¯ Signed a $646,164 contract between the county job and family services department and Community Action Council for case management, training and employment services. The money is coming from the federal government.

¯ Approved the appointment of Suzanne Allen of Steubenville to the county youth council. The youth council is operated by CAC to help train and find employment for young people.

¯ Approved $24,275 in attorney fees for indigent criminal defendants for October.

¯ Were informed by Gentile of his appointment of Albert Carapellotti of Wintersville to the county port authority.

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