A short special meeting held at the courthouse on Tuesday by the county commission included the approval of the county’s financial statement for the 2017-2018 Fiscal Year.

Commission President Woody Hanna read the total revenue for the year at $16,151,020, and the total expenditures, which came in at $14,567,735. The remaining $1,583,285 will go into the next fiscal year’s budget under the heading, “overages,” according to Kelly Banton, clerk for the commissioners. The entire financial statement will soon be published for the public by the media, Hanna said.

The commissioners signed and approved a $46,202 VOCA grant application. For several years, the county has applied for VOCA (Victims of Crime Acts) grants through the West Virginia Division of Justice and Community Services in response to the needs of innocent victims of crime. The Act provides financial aid to state crime victim compensation programs and crime victim assistance programs. Passage of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 represented a revolutionary step toward restoring balance between the rights of crime victims and the rights of the accused criminals. Today, crime victims have emerged as integral to the criminal justice process. Rather than being rendered helpless by their victimization, victims of crime have been encouraged by the provisions and impact of VOCA to actively participate in seeking justice and healing.

The third item on the agenda, described as “discussion of a possible land acquisition,” brought the meeting to a close, with the commissioners and newly appointed 911 Director Mike Honaker, Deputy 911 Directer Paula Brown, together with Board of Education Supervisor Jeff Bryant and three other individuals leaving the courtroom to meet for about an hour in executive session. Upon their return, Hanna said, “No decisions were made, but the topic will be on the Tuesday, Nov. 13 meeting agenda.”