By Lyn Widmyer
At Christmas, visions of sugarplums dance in my head. In March, levy rates and budget line items tap a frantic fandango through my beleaguered brain.
State law requires County Commissions to submit draft budgets for each fiscal year by the end of March. A final budget is completed at the end of the summer. After dozens of budget workshops and a public hearing, the Jefferson County Commission completed a $19 million draft budget on time. Needless to say, tax revenues are way down, primarily due to a $500,000,000 drop …

By Thomas Harding
If I tell you the good news, will you forgive me? Or should I start with bad news, so that you will trust me more when I say that things are getting better?
Okay, here’s the bad news: Appraisers are struggling to find the value that has been agreed by buyers and sellers. This is causing real heartache in the market, and many a decent contract has been tripped up in recent months because the contract value is higher than the appraised value. As soon as sales pick up, …

 
In advance of the upcoming primary elections, The Observer’s David Lillard asked candidates for the County Commission, House of Delegates and W.Va. Senate to share their views on a range of topics. Because this is a primary race, we surveyed only the races in which there were intra-party contests. But to give all candidates in those races “equal ink,” we surveyed unchallenged candidates in the races we surveyed. So, if a couple of Democrats are facing off in a primary, we surveyed an unchallenged GOP candidate in the same race. …

 
  By Leigh Koonce
The breeze of reform is in the air. President Obama has signed healthcare reform. The Congress is preparing to consider a new campaign finance reform measure to combat the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in that realm. Though it took a devastating disaster at the Upper Big Branch mine, it now appears a strong gaze will be directed toward comprehensive mining reform as well. As all of these important movements progress, I am struck by a more modest need for reform: that of the rules which govern West …

Today attorneys for The Observer filed their brief for the case The Shepherdstown Observer vs Jennifer Maghan in the Supreme Court of West Virginia. This follows the earlier decision by the court to hear the case. The defendants will now have an opportunity to respond.
The Observer is asking the court to overturn the decision made by the Jefferson County Circuit Court that upheld the decision by Jennifer Maghan, County Clerk, not to release the names of petitioners who were calling for a referendum on a new zoning ordinance for the …