Wood County Fire Board releases delinquent fire fee list
Wood County Fire Board President Mike Voshel, who serves as a captain in the Williamstown Volunteer Fire Department, appeared before the Wood County Commission on Thursday to discuss the county fire fee collections which are only at 71.99% so far this year. They have released the names of the top 25 local companies that have not paid the fire fee. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)
PARKERSBURG — The Wood County Fire Board has released the list of the top 25 local businesses and entities in the area who have not been paying the Wood County Fire Fee. Board President Mike Voshel, who serves as a captain with the Williamstown Volunteer Fire Department, appeared before the Wood County Commission on Thursday to present the list which totaled $108,550.74 in unpaid fees. “Some of these have not paid since the existence of the fire fee,” Voshel said. “These are our high hitters that owe the most.” They have had some that are no longer viable to collect, like Ohio Valley University which is no longer in operation which were taken out of the system. Carr Concrete Corporation was No. 17 on the list with a total of $3,168 in unpaid fees from 2019 to 2022. The company came under new ownership and the new owners paid the regular amount of the fee for 2023. The rest will probably be deemed as uncollectible. WVW Properties LLC was listed at the eighth position on the list as owing $4,955.33. Voshel said they paid the fee from 2016 to 2019, but haven’t paid since. The Fire Board is looking to collect delinquent fire fees. Voshel said next week they will be sending out the late notices which were drawn up by a lawyer and the lawyers fees will be added to the totals. “This all funds the volunteer fire departments,” he said. “For this year, we are currently at 72% (of collections). “This money is very important for the fire departments to have. It covers everyday operational costs.” It costs around $10,000-$14,000 to outfit one firefighter with the proper gear they are required to have. Normally, four to six people are on a truck to go fight a fire. Regardless of its condition, gear has to be replaced every 10 years. Other equipment has to have yearly maintenance. “We are not asking anyone for any more money,” Voshel said. “We want to make sure everyone pays their share.” Many departments throughout the county use this money for their daily operations and many departments are seeing rising prices with fuel and other costs including vehicle replacements “It is helpful that these fees get paid,” Voshel said. In 2016, the fire board had 96.30% payment of the fee. It was 94.89% in 2018, 93.95% in 2019, 91.76% in 2020, 92.25% in 2021, 88.87% in 2022 and 86.51% in 2023. As of this week, the county is at 71.99% with $867,639.53 collected so far this year when the total has been over $1.1 million for each year from 2016-2023. People and businesses can pay the fire fee online through the Wood County Sheriff’s Tax Office. The Williamstown VFD had a company come in over the last month to do service on their fire trucks (including three engines and one pickup truck) and the bill was over $18,000, Voshel said, adding that work was mandatory through state requirements. State funding provides for some things, but they can’t use state funding for gasoline expenses. They are speaking to legislators about making changes. The money from the fees is used for maintaining their gear and trucks. “It is very important we get all of this collected,” Voshel said. The others on the unpaid fire fee list are (These are how they appeared on the list provided fom fire officials): * AJ RANCH PROPERTIES LLC : $10,199.36 * SIMONTON WINDOWS & DOORS INC.: $8,467.74 * DAKE JAMES & JEANNE CO-TR WH1 LLC: $7,979.81 * SHRAMOWIAT MICHAEL: $6,776.45 * ACT RENTALS INC.: $6,459.94 * RANDOLPH ROBERT J RANDOLPH CO: $6,062 * JAY SHREE MELDI MATAJI LLC: $5,021.43 * CUNNINGHAM MARK E. :$4,792 * ARHC WNPBGWV01 LLC: $4,644.95 * CAMY LLC: $4,138.91 * ROMINE L MICHAEL: $3,529.53 * BETTER LIVING MANAGEMENT LLC: $3,460.41 * STEELE LARRY JOE: $3,411.77 * STERICYCLE INC.: $3,294.99 * FLOWERS PATRICK E FLOWERS KIMBERLY: $3,251.85 * 3B DG2 LLC.: $2,904.72 * ARC1022 LLC.: $2,770.07 * 1230 SOUTH ASSOCIATES LLC.: $2,611.71 * SNYDER BARRY TRUSTEE HARGITAI: $2,488.82 * JB FAMILY HOLDINGS LP: $2,332.80 * RIVER SITE LLC: $2,274.48 * ASHBROOK LLC: $1,982.34 * PAL LLC: $1,571.81