Published: June 24, 2009 11:04 pm      

Compliance officer sees improved cooperation

KEYSER, W.Va. — The Mineral County compliance officer program is getting steady cooperation from county residents with out-of-state vehicles.

“Obviously, what you’re doing is working,” Jancie LaRue, county commissioner, said.

In the last week in particular, Rose Ann Hanna-Maine, county assessor, said the response has increased as compliance Officer Jim Endler has been tagging vehicles throughout the county.

Endler said there has been some disagreement as to how it would be best to do the tagging. He said he knew how difficult it could be to prove that a car belonged to a county resident, despite the out-of-state tags.

“I don’t think it’s necessary for you to see (the vehicle) on several occasions,” Mike Bland, county coordinator, said. “Otherwise, we will spend a lot of time on this.”

He said they already send Endler out because they have received complaints from nearby residents that though a car seems to be owned by a local resident, the tags are not for West Virginia.

Endler said another problem he has encountered in the process was when trying to get the county’s prosecutor’s office to log a complaint. He said in trying to move forward on a tagged vehicle, he’d found the complaint was never written down by that office.

Sheriff Craig Fraley assured the commissioners, Endler and Hanna-Maine that if it became necessary to do so, he would have his deputies help and issue a citation.

The commissioners also approved a $500 pay raise for deputies in order to compete better with surrounding areas, though Fraley admitted that even with the increase, it won’t come close to these areas in Maryland.

“It’s not going to match anything close to this, but having put this into perspective, I’ve talked to the guys,” Fraley said. “They’re happy being here. Overall, if they see we’re making an effort to make things better for them, they’re not as likely to jump ship.”

The commissioners also approved a few transfers to cover shortfalls in the Sheriff’s Office budget.

This included a $8,900 bill for advertising delinquent properties as well as $5,900 remaining on a $9,616 bill outstanding for gas.

The commission unanimously approved the changes.

Contact Sarah Moses at smoses@times-news.com.