CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Along with the political shifts happening at the State Capitol in Charleston, there are some seismic changes going on at county courthouses across the Mountain State this week. Twenty-seven counties are getting a new Sheriff.
“It’s half the state, so it’s a significant number. We’ve seen it go as high as 35 before, so it’s a moderate number but when you put it into perspective that half the state is changing in a very important function, that will open your eyes quickly,” said Rodney Miller, Executive Director of the West Virginia Sheriff’s Association.
The new sheriffs come from a variety of backgrounds and in many cases are expected to be somewhat overwhelmed at what they will walk into on day one. Miller said that’s why his organization puts on training seminars to prepare each of the new sheriffs on what to expect and how to handle the assigned duties which come with the job.
“Some are coming from municipal agencies, some are former State Troopers, some have absolutely no law enforcement experience. The nuisances of being a new sheriff are so dramatically different we put these seminars on to let them known what they are walking into,” he explained.
Even Miller, with 33 years of experience in a county sheriff’s department, said he wasn’t ready for what awaited him when he became the Boone County Sheriff many years ago. He added for most, the duty of collecting taxes may be the trickiest obstacle they’ll need to handle.
“That part of it is pretty overwhelming. Walking into the tax office is a different dynamic and a little bit unexpected, but it’s equally if not more important than any other function the sheriff does,” he said.
Although it may seem like an odd dynamic combining law enforcement and tax collection duties in to the same role is quite traditional. In fact, the tax duty pre-dates the law enforcement work.
“The sheriff being the tax collector goes back to the 8th Century. You can go back historically and that’s why we are where we are,” he explained.
Story by Chris Lawrence, MetroNews