T-L Photo/GAGE VOTA St. Clairsville Mayor Kathryn Thalman thanks Belmont County Commissioner J.P. Dutton for attending the Monday council meeting and for taking time to speak to council and convey his frustrations.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Belmont County Board of Commissioners President J.P. Dutton hopes to set the record straight about how the county funds its operations.

Dutton attended the St. Clairsville City Council meeting Monday evening to voice his frustrations over comments made by city officials.

“You may know we had a meeting with the mayor recently, one a few weeks ago, one a few months ago, and I think, based on that conversation and some of the information since the meeting, I felt like I needed to come and speak to council,” Dutton said. “I’m not coming on behalf of our board. I’m just here personally. Although I’m not a resident of St. Clairsville, my children both attend school inside the city. I have volunteered at the rec center with youth sports for over 10 years and am really kind of bothered by some of the comments since our meeting in terms of the county’s support of the city of St. Clairsville and even my own personal support for the city of St. Clairsville.”

He added that he wanted to talk to council and explain what he believes is the source of the tension.

Dutton said he believes the division stems from the recent property tax increase that caused a stir among several Belmont County residents. It was such a hot button issue that roughly 300 people attended Shaheen Law Group’s property tax forum at Undo’s West in St. Clairsville recently.

He added that the county receives roughly 18 cents of every dollar from the property taxes residents pay.

“And of those 18 cents, they’re going to countywide levies, some for 911 so when a resident of St. Clairsville calls 911, it’s not coming to dispatch here in the city, it’s coming out to the Belmont County 911 Center. Senior Services of Belmont County, that’s right inside the city of St. Clairsville, and anyone that qualifies that wants a hot meal through Senior Services, they’re getting that through the levies as well,” Dutton said. “Only about four or five cents of that dollar comes into the county’s general fund, which our county commissioners manage. We oversee a budget that’s made primarily of sales tax, not of property taxes.

“So, that being said, I just kind of want to clarify that this thought that we’re collecting all these property taxes, and then our board or the county is choosing not to provide services to Belmont county residents is absurd, frankly.”

He added that the board of commissioners has a long history of making investments that directly benefit the city of St. Clairsville.

“Myself, personally, before being commissioner I worked for (former) congressman (Bob) Ney and worked on two separate times to get federal investment for the Clarendon Hotel in the early 2000s. And before me, the Mall Road Crossing project had a $5 million deficit in order for that project to happen. The county borrowed $5 million in order to make that project happen, which you all know, obviously, that project was completed,” he said.

Dutton added that the commissioners are currently working on a sewer project just east of the city that will allow the Ohio Valley Mall area and the Ohio Valley Plaza, as well as other businesses on the east end of town, to receive better sewage service.

“It’s a $2 million project we’re doing right now to allow for growth in that area,” he said. “We’re getting ready to do a roughly $2 million project in the very center of town, Courthouse Plaza, a project that’s not just for the courthouse but also addresses ADA accessibility around the county block.”

He reiterated that his reason for being at the council meeting was to make it crystal clear that the commissioners are working for the betterment of not only St.Clairsville, but the entire county.

He added there are 15 municipalities and 16 townships in Belmont County and it is not able to assist in specific community projects inside of those municipalities and townships due to the limited amount of money in the general fund.

St. Clairsville Mayor Kathryn Thalman thanked Dutton for attending the meeting and said she appreciated him taking time to speak to council and convey his frustrations.

“I’m sure I irritated you and I apologize, but I’ve got to do my job and see if there’s any county funding available,” she said. “I’ve got a ton of phone calls from mad property tax payers coming to me and I said, ‘I got nothing to do with property taxes,’ so I feel your pain. I’m sure you guys get a lot of phone calls but, again, I’m the person in charge of St. Clairsville, so I feel like I’ve got to come over and ask and make some noise.”

Dutton replied that Thalman is more than welcome to come and address the commissioners any time. He noted that wasn’t his issue.

“You’re welcome to ask. It’s not an irritation, I have very thick skin. The problem is when it’s not based on facts, that’s when I feel like I have to come and clarify things,” he said. “We had two conversations on this matter, and I felt that we explained our limitations.”