Hardy County Delivers On Transparency

Steven Schetrom is a Candidate for WV State Treasuere in 2024

Steven Schetrom, of Baker, WV, has declared his candidacy for West Virginia State Treasurer in 2024. Schetrom, who has served as County Commissioner in Hardy County since January, 2021, is excited to continue his service to West Virginia as he pursues this position. Schetrom takes great pride in his service to Hardy County in his role as County Commissioner. His notable achievements include: · Working with other County and State leaders and officials to bring Papier-Mettler, a German packaging manufacturer, to the County. (Papier-Mettler will invest $48 million and create up to 100 new jobs in the area.) · Working with companies like Pilgrim’s, an international poultry producer, to make sure that Hardy County’s policies continue to facilitate a strong agricultural economy in the region. (Hardy County produces 25% of total state agricultural sales, and is in the top 20% of agricultural producing counties in the nation. The 2017 USDA Agricultural Census estimated Hardy County’s total market value of agricultural products sold at over $190 million.) · Working with other County officials and citizens to update the County’s Comprehensive Plan. (Hardy County is one of only a handful of counties in the State that incorporates Zoning.) · Navigating the Federal guidelines for how COVID-related funding can be spent at the County level. · Allocating Federal and State funding to many local entities, including Fire Departments, Emergency Medical Services, Parks and Recreation, etc. · Being nominated by the County Commissioners’ Association of West Virginia, and appointed by Governor Jim Justice, to the West Virginia Emergency Medical Services Advisory Council. · Receiving the County Commissioners’ Association of West Virginia County of the Year Award for 2023. · Receiving the 2023 James H. Booton Rising Star Award from the County Commissioners’ Association of West Virginia. Schetrom’s campaign for State Treasurer focuses on three main ideas: Growth, Transparency, and Stewardship. Regarding growth, he maintains that to provide a high quality-of-life for State residents, policies that encourage growth must be advocated for and maintained. To achieve this, says Schetrom, “the Treasurer’s Office needs to continue to pursue innovative solutions at the State Government level which increase efficiency, and allow for greater numbers of our population to participate in economic advances in our State.” In pursuing this agenda, Schetrom will work to grow the Jumpstart Savings Plan, which was signed into law during the legislative session of 2021, and became available for users in July 2022. This program is similar to a 529 College Savings Plan, but allows people who wish to work in the trades—ranging from welding to cosmetology—to invest money for future purchases of tools, equipment, certifications, etc. This is a potentially great program that creates a means for more people to save toward future careers in the trades. Any investment signifies hope for the future, and Schetrom will work to grow this program in order to see more people in West Virginia prosper. Concerning transparency, Schetrom has been an advocate of the statewide Transparency Initiative. This initiative is called Project Mountaineer, and its goal is to provide local governments a no-cost method for reporting revenues and expenses. This initiative is valuable for localities, and allows citizens to easily track accounting and investment decisions made by their local elected leaders. Schetrom maintains that “transparency and openness makes everyone better.” Schetrom maintains that the West Virginia State Treasurer has a powerful and unique role in guiding investment decisions related to the State's resources. At the most basic level, these investments represent the people's hope for the future. It is imperative that the Treasurer's Office maintains transparency regarding its investment decisions. The Office should utilize modern and efficient reporting systems, so that constituents are informed about the financial decisions of the State. Finally, concerning stewardship, Schetrom firmly believes that the highest duty of elected officeholders is to serve the people who elected them. Elected representatives do not own State tax revenues and other sources of funding, but are charged with the duty to act as good stewards of those financial resources. In pursuing the goal of good stewardship, Schetrom has attended numerous Local Government Services training conferences hosted by the County Commissioners’ Association around the State, and has worked tirelessly to implement sound fiscal policies in the County he serves. At the State Government level, the Treasurer's Office must be a tireless advocate for policies that protect citizens' rights. For example, when asset management companies enact policies that work to destroy the value of West Virginia's investments, the Treasurer's Office should create policies that prohibit investments from the State from being held by these institutions. In his role as County Commissioner, Schetrom serves on numerous boards, including: · Hardy County Rural Development Authority · Hardy County Planning Commission · Moorefield/Hardy County Wastewater Development Board (Secretary) · Hardy County Child Care Center Board · Corridor H Authority Board · Region 8 Planning and Development Council · Region 7 Workforce Development Board · Hardy, Hampshire, and Pendleton Counties Day Report Center Board · West Virginia Emergency Medical Services Advisory Council · National Association of Counties Environment, Energy, and Land Use Policy Steering Committee (Energy Subcommittee Vice Chair) Schetrom was born and raised in Hardy County, WV. He graduated from Moorefield High School in 1995. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Shepherd University in 2003 and a Masters in Business Administration, with Concentrations in Finance and Entrepreneurship, from Wake Forest University in 2008. He has worked as a Financial Advisor since 2008, and established his own Registered Investment Advisory firm, Legacy Financial, LLC, in 2010.  Schetrom resides in Baker, WV with his wife, Rachel, and two sons, Eli and Silas. Rachel is a Teacher at East Hardy High School. Eli is a first-year Cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point, and Silas is a Sophomore at East Hardy High School.

Emergency Services Organizations in West Virginia work very hard to make sure their departments are well funded. This is an ongoing process, that requires extraordinary effort from local jurisdictions. One current issue being debated in this 86th Legislature is how to allocate the 1% insurance premium tax that was allocated to local fire departments in the 1980s. The issue arises because, following this allocation, because of the underfunded teacher retirement fund in the state, local fire departments have only been receiving 55% of that original 1% allocation. This solution provides each fire company in West Virginia about $50,000 annually from this funding source. The teacher retirement fund has now been brought to solvency over time through the allocation of 45% of the 1% of insurance premium tax funding that was originally promised to local fire departments. In deciding how to allocate the roughly $38 million coming through this funding source, current legislation proposes increasing the allocation for fire departments to 77.5% of the insurance premium tax money, with EMS companies receiving the 22.5% balance. This would amount to a roughly $6,000 annual increase for each fire department in the state. There are about 420 fire departments in West Virginia. The total number of EMS companies comes to about 250. With both fire departments and EMS companies increasingly being stretched to secure resources to provide services within their jurisdictions, this is an important issue facing this legislature.