Feb 18, 2016 3 min read

WAYNESBURG – Greene County’s assessment values declined by nearly 2 percent last year primarily from a decrease in the value of coal, according to the certified numbers approved by county commissioners Thursday morning.

“I would say most of the decrease (in mineral values) was from coal depletion,” county chief assessor Mary Ann Lewis said.

Depletion occurs when coal that is mined by a mining company during the year is removed from the tax rolls.

The county saw increases in value for land and improvements, a 0.44-percent increase and 1.9-percent increase, respectively. However, those increases were offset by an 8.5-percent decline in coal values.

Coal values in the county normally fluctuate year to year as new coal reserves are permitted and added to the tax rolls and existing coal is mined and removed.

Coal now makes up 31.7 percent of the county’s total property valuation. Though the county is now producing natural gas, that adds little to the property tax rolls. Unlike coal, natural gas is not taxed as real estate.

The county’s total taxable value for land, improvements and minerals now stands at $1,618,967,389, which is down by more than $32 million from previous figures, according to assessment values prepared by the Greene County Assessment Office.

Coal values decreased by $48,109,320, from $562,310,030 to $514,191,710. Land values increased by $1,472,010, from $336,659,570 to $338,131,580. The value of improvements increased by $14,354,581, from $752,289,518 to $766,644,099.

In other business, commissioners awarded a contract for construction of an intersection on Route 21 at Murtha Drive for Greene County Airport. The low bid of $768,719 was presented by Folino Construction Inc. of Oakmont.

They also approved an agreement with Electric Guard Dog Co. of Columbia, S.C. to install electric wiring at the top of the perimeter fence at Greene County jail. The costs is $975 per month, which will total $35,100 during the three-year contract.

During a salary board meeting that followed the commissioners’ meeting, the board hired Megan Goodwin as a full-time second deputy in the clerk of courts office at $13.17 an hour. It accepted the retirement of second deputy Alexis Pierce.

The board hired Wendy Phillips as a part-time passport agent in the prothonotary’s office as $12.18 an hour.

The board also hired Toni Murphy as a full-time law clerk in the court at $17.64 an hour; and changed the pay for all casual tip staffs from $67.51 a day to $9.65 an hour with a guaranteed minimum 7-hour work day.

Katherine Barnhart was hired as an associate for the Greene County Industrial Development Authority at $13.01 an hour. Jeff Novak was promoted maintenance director at a salary of $53,408 a year; and Carol Gooden was reclassified as a director of audits in the controllers’s office at a salary of $63,500 a year.