The Washington County Commission discussed tabling the $20,000 contract for the RSVP Senior Wheels program at its meeting Thursday. (Photo by Amber Phipps)

Washington County Sheriff Mark Warden announced the first graduating class from the I.G.N.I.T.E. program during the Washington County Commission meeting Thursday.

Warden said they held a ceremony at the jail on Wednesday to celebrate 14 individuals who graduated from the program.

“Thanks to everybody in the community that’s moving forward on this and actually changing individual’s lives,” he said.

The I.G.N.I.T.E. program, which launched in Washington County in June, is a national program with the goal of providing inmates with educational and job-readiness classes. The program is optional for incarcerated individuals to participate in.

“One individual actually starts his job today,” said Warden. “He said this program actually changed his life.”

According to the sheriff’s website, graduates received certificates in hydro pump operations, GED accomplishments, Triple P Parenting, ServSafe Person-in-Charge, and the I.G.N.I.T.E.’d Inmate Award.

During Thursday’s meeting, Warden also brought up his concerns about the implications of a property tax reform if it appears on next year’s ballot in November and passes.

“This is real and if this passes in November, life as we know it changes, just like that,” he said. “It will dramatically impact my office…if you vote on this, these are the services you’re losing.”

Commissioner Charlie Schilling added to Warden’s comments and said the county absolutely needs a property tax reform because property taxes have skyrocketed.

“Our state legislature needs to step up to provide more funds for the services that we’re talking about being eliminated at the county level,” said Schilling. “It’s going to have to come from the state budget in certain areas and ballot language put out there by the legislature.”

The property taxes in the county go towards county services such as law enforcement, school districts, municipalities, and more. Schilling encouraged everyone to stay educated on the subject.

In other agenda items, the commissioners approved the five proposals from Partners Environmental Consultants for various assessments in Washington County. These assessments are part of the beginning stages of the Brownfields program. PEC will be analyzing various properties and target areas along the Ohio River to assess and document the findings.

The commissioners approved and discussed the electric aggregation contract program which released the current rate at .095 per kwH.

“I just want to make the point that just because this aggregation program is in place, there’s no cost to get out of it, and you’re automatically enrolled if you don’t send in a notice,” said Commissioner James Booth. “If you want to go with a different provider, you can go right on the PUCO (Public Utilities Commission of Ohio) website and look at apples to apples that compares all the rates in your area.”

Booth said he wanted to make sure the public was aware they didn’t have to go with this program and they could select a different provider.

The energy aggregate program was approved in 2023 and targets residents that aren’t in city or village limits. The goal is to save people money on electricity.

“It’s not that this board of commissioners is locking you into this, the public can pick whoever they want,” said Booth. “This is just one way to lock in some kind of guaranteed rate and you can sign back up later on if you want.”

The commissioners voted to table the $20,000 agreement from the RSVP Senior Wheels Program. Booth said the program just received triple the amount of funds they’ve gotten in the past so he wanted to speak with RSVP Director Carla Westfall before approving the contract.

“If we can save five or 10 grand on this, that’s five or 10 grand it costs that we may be able to cover,” said Booth. “I want to talk with her and see if she’s got the money that could cover 10 grand of it.”

Engineer Roger Wright said they’re still waiting on two new tanks to be shipped in so they can install it and finish the sanitation sewer project in Devola.