EMPORIUM — At Thursday’s meeting, the Cameron County Commissioners approved a tax assessment appeal from Teutech that lowers the company’s tax obligation.
The Teutech tax assessment appeal sought to lower the property value of the light industrial facility located at 227 Barton Street in Emporium, and was filed in November of 2015.
The county, school district and borough have agreed to the market value determined by an assessor that places the property’s worth at $810,000. “The common level ratio of 67.57 percent should be applied to the market value, resulting in an assessed value of $547,297 effective January 1, 2016.”
The decision will decrease the tax liability of this corporation.
Children & Youth Services (CYS) representatives discussed the Human Services Block Grant appropriations to be made to agencies working for residents in Cameron County. Funds go to a number of agencies that administer programs in the county: Community Nurses Home Health Support for Homemaker Services, Office of Human Services—Aging Services for personal care, Drug and Alcohol Services for interventions, Northern Tier Community Action Corporation for case management related to homeless assistance services, CAPSEA Inc. for case management for homeless assistance services, Dickinson Center Inc. for family support/mental health services, and the Cameron County Family Center to support programs offered to county residents.
Commissioner Lori Reed attended a recent meeting of the Rural Community College advisory board to gather information concerning marketing of the new university. The school will not be a traditional bricks and mortar institution, instead offering most courses via the internet at satellite locations spread across the northern tier. The college will be headquartered in Warren, which is a central location in the region to be covered by the university. Red House Communications, a marketing firm, will be tasked with looking at accessibility, affordability, and other aspects of the college to attract students to the new school.
A resolution was approved to appoint a floodplain administrator and revise zoning fees, charges and expenses pertaining to floodplain services, inspections and permits. A floodplain agreement was approved with Russ Braun, who serves currently as the county building code enforcement officer and already provides similar floodplain services for Elk County. Commissioner Jim Thomas stated that Braun is the most knowledgeable individual in the area for this type of work.
In other business, the county will receive $16,452 from the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania’s Unemployment Compensation Trust. The cash dividend was paid to all members who have an eligible account balance.
Chief Clerk Brenda Munz stated that the election went fairly well and no technical glitches occurred. The county will begin readying for the November municipal election in the near future.
The next meeting of the Cameron County Commissioners will be held at 10 a.m. June 1 at the courthouse in Emporium.
