WINFIELD - At a candidate forum earlier this month, tensions were high between the two men looking to be the newest member of the Putnam County Commission.
Republican Ron Foster and independent D.W. "Peachie" Arthur faced off for the first time since Arthur's place on the ballot was secured by a district judge.
Arthur, who filed to run in June as an independent candidate, was removed from the ballot in September based on the Erik Wells case - the former state senator who changed party affiliations after the primary election to run as an independent candidate for Kanawha County clerk. However, Arthur had changed his party affiliation to independent in March and was ordered returned to the general election ballot by a federal judge.
Mark Whitt, the only Democratic candidate to file for county commission, has since dropped out, according to documents filed with the Putnam County clerk's office in June.
At the candidate forum, Foster and Arthur each took a significantly different stance on how county government should run.
Foster, who has touted his experience as owner of Scott Depot-based business Foster Supply, believes running a county isn't much different from running a business.
He said his experience has been in creating jobs for Putnam County, and that's what he will do as county commissioner.
"That's what we need - someone who has experience in creating jobs and helping others to create jobs," Foster said.
However, Arthur - who served as Putnam County's assessor for 12 years - said running a business does not translate well to running a county. Arthur said the county needs to focus on improving life for citizens instead of turning a profit.
"I do not think you can run a county like a business because a business is there to make a profit," Arthur said. "County government is not there to make a profit. County Commission is there to make a better life for the citizens of the county and [increase] safety."
He also said the county needs to be more hard-nosed when it comes to collecting unpaid fees and taxes. Arthur brought up the fact that Foster Supply owes the county nearly $5,000 in unpaid fire service fees.
Foster, who was visibly angry with Arthur after the forum, said he hasn't paid the fire service fee because of an ongoing court case regarding the fee.
Foster's company filed a lawsuit against the Putnam County Fire Service Board and the Putnam County Commission in Putnam Circuit Court in 2014 against the fire service fee increase. He alleges the ordinance amendment increasing the fee uses an "arbitrary square footage formula to buildings" in the county regardless of use, construction techniques, fire risk, location and accessibility of fire services, and "discriminates between residential and commercial buildings," according to previous Gazette-Mail reports.
Richard Pullin, fire administrator for the Putnam County Fire Service Board, confirmed earlier this month that Foster's company hasn't paid roughly $4,800 in fire service fees.
He said Foster had paid up until last year, but only the previous amount that would have been due before the fee increase, not the amount due after the increase.
In 2012, the Putnam County Commission voted to raise the fire service fee by 50 percent. Prior to that, the fire service fee hadn't been increased in 25 years.
A homeowner who paid $25 a year in 2012 now pays $37.50, and owners of larger homes pay $45.
Owners of commercial buildings, which include apartment buildings, hotels, motels and other buildings, pay $75 for structures up to 2,500 square feet.
Instead of a single rate for all structures larger than that, owners pay $75 more for each 1,250 extra square feet until 2,500 extra square feet up to 20,000. The max fee, for 20,000 square feet and larger, is $1,125 per year.
However, even if a building is virtually fire resistant, the fire service fee covers all emergency response calls. In September, the volunteer fire departments responded to just 13 structure fires, but nearly 290 EMS assistance calls, 54 motor vehicle collisions with injuries, 22 motor vehicle collisions without injuries, and 36 traumatic falls, according to the Fire Service Board's facebook page.
Foster has alleged the fire service fee is discriminatory against commercial properties, but Pullin said commercial and residential properties can't be assessed in the same way in regards to traffic and use.
"I can find a home in Putnam County that's as large as MedExpress in Teays Valley, but that doesn't mean the buildings are one in the same," Pullin said.
He added that the Fire Service Board works with residents or businesses by setting up payment plans, or exonerating residents at the poverty level if they show proof of income.
In total the county has a little over $100,000 in unpaid fire service fees. The fee itself is used to keep the volunteer fire departments in operation, Pullin said, and doesn't even cover enough to purchase gear for the firemen.
Foster has said he will pay the amount due for the fire service fee once the court rules, but Pullin said, "The way our books are, he owes money until the court allows him to be exempt from it."
Arthur said after the forum he didn't do anything wrong, that the unpaid fees were published in the newspaper and are public knowledge.
When asked about the opioid epidemic in West Virginia and how Putnam County can help, the two candidates differed in their answers.
Arthur, who has a background in working for the Board of Education as a bus operator, said Putnam County should keep the commission's money in the county to work with educating students on drugs, and continue funding law enforcement and drug units.
Foster said the County Commission has already started to fight the drug problem through the day report program.
Foster and his wife also worked with Christ Temple in Huntington to create a program raising funds to combat the drug problem in Putnam County. Foster said he will look for ways to use those funds in Putnam County to create drug education and keep offenders out of jail.
"Make them productive members of society so they put taxes in instead of taking taxes out," Foster said.