State left Campbell County to fend for itself in bankruptcies

If Contura Energy is successful in a bid to reacquire two Powder River Basin coal mines, it could become even more difficult for Campbell County to collect $37 million in unpaid taxes on the properties.

Campbell County lawyers objected to last week’s proposal in a West Virginia bankruptcy court on Friday. The court has had control over the mines’ fate since the mines’ operator, Blackjewel LLC, crashed into bankruptcy with hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid debts on July 1.

Campbell County will be “left holding the bag,” said Jeffrey Liesemer, an attorney hired to represent the county, during Friday’s hearing. “These taxes go to fund schools, they pay teachers,” he said. “We’re not trying to protect a profit margin here.”

The county’s mounting difficulty collecting ad valorem taxes is no surprise to county commissioners and officials there. It’s a problem they’ve been pleading for help with for years. But as the coal bankruptcies and unpaid tax bills mounted, elected and appointed state officials left Campbell County to fend for itself again and again, county officials say.

Read more: https://www.wyofile.com/state-left-campbell-county-to-fend-for-itself-in-bankruptcies/