Marion County Humane Society Levy will be on the ballot again. Here’s what’s different

FAIRMONT, W.Va. (WBOY) — After their previous levy failed in May by only 241 votes, staff with the Marion County Humane Society are trying it again .

A new version of the Marion County Humane Society Levy has already been approved by the Marion County Commission to be on the ballot on Nov. 5, 2024.

The majority of voters during the Primary Election voted for the levy, but it needed 60% of the votes to pass and only got 57.96% .

According to Shelter Director Jonna Spatafore, shelter workers are trying the levy again because with their new and much larger facility , they are taking in more animals and need additional help to take care of all of them. Spatafore said that the levy would allow the shelter to offer more services, including medical care for animals that already have homes, without having to turn any animals away.

What’s different this time?

The new levy proposal that voters will see on the General Election ballot is a slightly lower tax rate than the one they saw in May. The new levy is at a rate of 1.1 cents per $100 of property for owner-occupied residential properties and 2.2 cents for Class III and IV properties. The estimated tax burden of this second levy for a Marion County resident with $200,000 worth of personal property and real estate would be $13.20 per year, according to the humane society, compared to an estimate of $14.40 for the spring levy .

Spatafore told 12 News that the humane society plans to promote the levy more this time around to get the word out to more areas that it may have missed in the spring.

“We feel a lot that voters—the amount of voters was really down with the last one, so we’re hoping that more people will get out and vote and get this levy passed,” Spatafore said during an interview.

Marion County’s voter turnout for the 2024 Primary Election was 32.22%.

What will it do?

If passed, the levy would be good for three years and raise an estimated $483,744 per year. That money would go toward treating, caring for and placing in homes the approximately 700-800 animals that the shelter helps annually. These animals are surrendered or rescued and could otherwise end up on the street.

According to the humane society, with its bigger building, it has been able to work closely with the Marion County Animal Control and take in those animals that may have otherwise been euthanized. This is one of the reasons Marion County has one of the lowest animal euthanasia rates in West Virginia.

“So even if you don’t have an animal, if we don’t take in the animals here that people don’t want, they’re not going to go home and take care of them and keep them in. They’re going to turn them loose, they’re going to let them out, and eventually, animal overpopulation is going to affect even the people that don’t personally have animals,” Spatafore said. “So, by keeping us open and keeping us doing what we do, you know, we are providing a community service.”

The funds generated through the levy will go toward animal care, paying off loans on the new humane society building and continuing spay and neuter services. The levy is far from the only source of income for the humane society as it is currently applying for grants to pay for some services and it also has revenue from donations and fundraising.

A full breakdown of the Marion County Humane Society’s finances and results from its last year of operation are available here .

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