Did go back and look for specific Medical Exemptions and noted these:
(7) Prescription drugs, insulin, durable medical equipment, mobility enhancing equipment and prosthetic devices. – Sales to and use by individual consumers of drugs, insulin, durable medical equipment, mobility enhancing equipment and prosthetic devices, dispensed upon prescription and intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of injury or disease:
(8) Licensed health care services. – Charges to patients for licensed health care services and for goods incidental to the rendering of such services.
(9) Licensed day care centers. - Charges for licensed day care center services.
What would be interesting is number (8) and how it would/ could apply to the Mental Health Care providers? While on the surface could be said to include that care, it is just ambiguous enough to not cover it? Yes, Mental Health is now mandated by the Obamacare Law, but seems to not a necessarily included one under Trumpcare? Once Trumpcare in whatever way is passed, there could be a very real question on that benefit to some. How about Marriage Counseling? For some a very necessary item and until a spouse chooses to either shoot, knife, hang, poison or run over with a vehicle is a much preferred method of resolution. After one of the above choices is made; possibly not so much?
Now at our County Level, the Budgeting process continues with some observations if I may?
1. The Magistrate Court Clerk, Ms. Yearego came hat in hand to ask for a fourth Court Room as there are now apparently four Magistrates. Rational, lack of space to properly deal with backlog of cases resulting from a plethora of reasons most especially the Drug Issues.
I hope you sitting down to read this? Let us do something really earth shattering? How about a rotating Night Court Magistrate? In simple terms folks one of the Magistrates will on a weekly basis do "Night Court". Rotating this would be the fairest way to do it and allow the other three to attend the power brokering sessions at the Vienna Country Club. If this not acceptable, than in all likelihood the Junior Magistrate will be so designated as "Night Court Magistrate". No construction, no remodeling and the only draw back might be having to learn to manage the staff to be where one is supposed to be at a given time. Possibly some increase in Personnel cost if paying some type of differential for Day versus Night but far more nominal than remodeling a building when not needed. And the savings in moving the alleged "bad guys" through the system would more than pay for that.
2. At least one of the Commissioners questioning if a Property Tax increase that is apparently making the rounds will be high enough to meet expected revenue needs? WHOA folks- said there would be increases for sure with Mr. Columbo on the Commission and it is apparently starting even if he is not the one who made the question?
And note, this Commission is the one spear heading a 1% County Sales Tax effort too.
3. Lastly and probably most iffy is our illustrious new Tax Assessor, one Mr. Nohe. In the interest of "Truth in Advertising", I have a long and sad history with him. It goes back to 2008 and resulted in an issue on City Ordinance in Vienna and his choice to protect one of his VFD/ City Employees rather than obey the Ordinance (lots of proof he chose to not do his job). So, I have dealt with; observed and listened to him very carefully over the past 8 1/2- 9 years. So here goes.
He wants to implement a new fee where the County Businesses are required to get a County Business License. Alludes some to "more money" but it is covered over by the County and its Departments knowing when a business terminates/ closes. I'm sorry, I do not know the difference between terminating a business versus closing one? Sounds like Mr. Nohe Bull S*** to me?
And than the frosting on the cake where I have complained about the last two Mayors in Vienna and Mr. Shaffer who was Assessor during the reign of both Mayors, past and present. Neither as Mayor, be it Mr. Nohe than or Mr. Rapp now gave a rats A** about the vehicles running all over Vienna with out of State License Plate Registration; mostly Ohio.
Mr. Shaffer as has been noted even did a big to do on tracking these people down to force the proper registration in West Virginia. He even advised me once he was "tracking 700 vehicles" in Wood County. Well, in his several years that I dealt with him on the issue, NOT ONE of the vehicles I noted to him under his program EVER changed their plates in Vienna; NOT ONE. His excuses: No staff- this while giving pay raises when one retired instead of hiring a new employee to do the needed work. His methodology for checking people was a staff member on the way home from work at 4:30 P.M. Now, I would bet many people will not be home at 4:30 P.M.? Some still working; maybe shopping; having a cold beer or ????? I did note that a LOT of people would be home at 6:00- 6:30 A.M. if a staff member made the rounds then and the staff scheduling was adjusted for someone to do that a couple of days a week? Couldn't be done said he and it was not.
Now for those of you who missed the career path of Mr. Nohe since 2008, it was to finish up his fourth term as Vienna Mayor in 2012; become a State Senator in 2010; be appointed to the State Parole Board in 2015 and now as the current Tax Assessor. He taxed to the max the people of Vienna for years and stockpiled the $5.8- 6 Million dollar Capital Reserve Fund that Mr. Rapp used to fund his monument building legacy versus taking care of the City. Ne'er a penny back to the folks in 16 years. Now, he is starting his increased taxes on the County and trying to pretend he will do anything about the improperly licensed vehicles in Wood County. But again, note his lack of interest as Mayor of Vienna. I do not expect any change.
In fact, I will put him on the spot right now. There are four (4) vehicles within a spitting champions distance with Ohio Plates. Some may be under legal exemption; all of them, Hell no.
So the end result is the State and County are after more and more of our bucks. 'nuff said'.