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PARKERSBURG - The Wood County Assessor’s Office is working on coming up with a dollar amount to request from County Commissioners to make up for a projected budget shortfall.
Commissioners and Assessor John Kelly discussed the matter during Thursday's regular meeting. Officials have discovered the office will be short around $357,000 in the Assessor's Valuation Fund by the end of the current fiscal year on June 30, 2027.
Kelly has been looking at ways to address the shortfall by cutting expenses, having already let two people go from his office, instituting a spending freeze and other measures.
"We have already made up a lot of ground," he said. "We are going to make up some more ground."
There have been questions about how the Assessor's Office arrived at a $400,000 carryover in the budget used to start the new fiscal year. Kelly said the matter is being discussed with state officials as they work on the problem.
"We have been finding some irregularities in there that we are working on right now," he said. "We are trying to come up with some ideas about what we need to do when we start preparing the next budget so we will be able to present a balanced budget.
"We think we know what the mistakes are, but we are still working through that."
Commissioner Jimmy Colombo asked if there was a way to recoup any money the county gives to the office to help with their shortfall. County Administrator Marty Seufer said an agreement could be worked up to do that.
"We are going to need some kind of repayment plan," Colombo said.
Colombo said the assessor's office has not been forthcoming in admitting the mistake was made.
"We are dealing with taxpayers' money and the responsibility has to be right on the table," he said. "We have to be perfectly clear on what the problem was and how we approach the fix."
In previous meetings, Kelly has said a mistake was made and that his employees and outside accountants were working on finding how it happened and how to fix it.
"There was a mistake made, and we are working to fix that mistake," Kelly said directly to Colombo on Thursday.
Kelly said there were probably "a couple of mistakes made" within their office.
"We have already found some issues that we are trying to work through and then find out exactly what happened," he said. "We will correct those mistakes, and those will be corrected in the next budget, which will be a balanced budget."
Colombo said they have to know how big the gap will be and what will be needed to fill it.
"I'm worried about getting to the next budget," he said.
He credited Kelly with taking the steps he already has to reduce spending and make cuts.
The situation did not happen within a single year, but over time, Kelly said. Officials said the issue goes back a few years. Kelly assumed the assessor's office in January 2025.
Commissioner Jim Hamric said there was another position in question in the assessor's office regarding someone returning from military duty.
Kelly said the Wood County Clerk's Office has a vacancy and they are moving a person to fill that position so the job in the assessor's office can be given back to the person returning.
Commission President Blair Couch asked Kelly if he had an exact dollar amount yet he will need.
"You are doing different things, let a couple of employees go and reduce expenditures," Couch said. "That is going to leave you with a dollar amount that you are going to ask the county to come in and fund. You haven't asked us to fund anything yet."
Kelly said he did not have that dollar amount yet.
"We are still working towards that," he said.
Contact Brett Dunlap at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com