County, municipalities, BOE ‘lay the levy’ for the 2026 fiscal year
Apr. 16—MORGANTOWN — As they do on the third Tuesday in April each year, the policy-making bodies for the state’s counties, municipalities and boards of education convened Tuesday to “lay the levy, ” or formally set their respective levy rates for the upcoming 2026 fiscal year.
Rates will remain unchanged pretty much across the board.
All told, Monongalia County residents who reside within a municipality will pay 95.26 cents per $100 of assessed value on Class II (owner occupied) property and double that amount, slightly more than $1.90 per $100 of assessed value, on commercial properties. Those numbers are based on adding the rates put in place by the county, the municipality, the board of education and the five excess levies.
Residents who live outside a municipality will pay 70.26 cents on Class II and roughly $1.40 for commercial property based on the same numbers, minus the municipal rate.
As for the individual levying bodies, each of the municipalities—Morgantown, Westover, Granville, Star City and Blacksville—will stay at the maximum municipal rate allowable by the state, which is 25 cents on every $100 of Class II property and 50 cents on every $100 of Class IV property.
Class III and IV is commercial property in the county (Class III) or within a municipality (Class IV).
The Monongalia County Board of Education will also carry its current rates—38.80 cents per $100 on Class II and 77.60 cents per $100 on Class III and IV—into the upcoming fiscal year.
In keeping with the theme, the Monongalia County Commission will also hold its levy rates in place for the upcoming fiscal year.
On Tuesday, the body approved rates of 22 cents per $100 on Class II and 44 cents for classes III and IV.
“We’re thrilled we’re able to do this. This is nine years in a row that we’ve either lowered it or kept it the same, ” Commissioner Tom Bloom said. “Remember, our county budget this year is $2.5 million less, and we’re still able to keep the same levy rate, which is unheard-of.”
Much of the county’s anticipated reduction in revenue is tied specifically to a state-directed change in the valuation process for Class III properties that have oil and gas considerations. The result of the change is an anticipated 18 % drop in Class III valuations compared to the current fiscal year.
Commissioner Sean Sikora noted the change in valuation will impact each of the levying bodies as well as the county’s excess levies.
Even so, the county maintains one of the lowest base levy rates in West Virginia—second only to Tyler County at 19.96 cents (Class II) and 39.92 cents (Class III & IV) for the current fiscal year.
Data showing how the counties stack up in FY 2026 won’t be available until sometime this summer.
The maximum allowable base levy rates for counties are 28.6 cents (Class II) and 57.2 (Class III & IV).
Sikora said the number of counties sitting at the maximum allowable rate climbed from 34 in 2018 to 39 in 2022. However, it has fallen considerably the past three fiscal cycles. In 2023, 38 counties were at the maximum base county levy rate. That’s down to 25 in the current fiscal year.
“I don’t know what contributes to that. Maybe because of the glut of all the COVID money and everything that was flooding everywhere. I don’t know how to read into that, ” he said. “When the 2026 stats come out this summer, we may start seeing that number start to creep back up ” if the change is due to COVID funds.
Monongalia County currently has five excess levies totaling 9.46 cents (Class II) and 18.92 cents (Class III & IV).
Those levies and their rates are: EMS (4.76 /9.52); Transit (2.2 /4.4); Parks and recreation (1.16 /2.32); Fire protection (.80 /1.60); Library (.54 /1.08).
