Accomack County Supervisors Still Have NO Answers

By Linda Spence

The Accomack County Board of Supervisors met on Wednesday, November 17, at the board chambers in Accomac.

Well, the top 20 delinquent tax payers don't have to be concerned about their names being in lights, on a big sign that is, but Supervisor Donald Hart isn't letting them off easy. Hart stated that these people have owed this money for a long time. Hart went on to say it's not fair to the low income, fixed income, elderly and other citizens who pay their taxes on time. The board agreed that the names of those delinquent tax payers will be put in big, bold letters in an advertisement in both local papers. To avoid this from happening, these county property owners need to pay up now.

Several citizens addressed the board during the public comment part of the meeting, including Accomack County Citizen Toni Trepanier; Trepanier asked the board why the county has citizens social security numbers to begin with. She said the county doesnt extend credit and she has never asked for credit and doesn't understand they have her social security number. Trepanier was referring to the county's stolen laptop that contained citizens' private information.
Concerning that stolen laptop, County Administrator Steve Miner gave an update. He reported that he has met with the Counties insurance advisors and their IT Specialists who made a number of recommendations that are being implemented, including encrypted software that is being installed. He also stated that the County Attorney's office is set up for any claims of fraud. According to Miner, there have been no reported cases of fraud that are affiliated with the stolen laptop and he encourages the citizens to remain vigilant.

According to County Attorney Mark Taylor, the notice provided by the county regarding the laptop theft complied and was approved by the VA Attorney General's Office. He stated that they have no information at this point that anyones identity information has been misused as a result of this theft. He continued, "it is most likely that the information has been cleared and the laptop has been resold. We would like to think that happened, but we cannot and have not proceeded on that basis. We have tried our best to protect our citizens without educating the crook on what could be on the computer."

And there's another crisis in the county, but this one has 4 legs. There's simply too many cats that are unvaccinated which can easily contribute to feline disease and most importantly rabies. Supervisor Ron Wolff had led the proposed idea of requiring cats to be licensed, but after talking to citizens and learning more about the issue, now believes that licensing will not achieve what he had hoped. He withdrew his attempt to license cats and the board voted unanimously to find a group of citizens who can come up with possibilities to help find a solution for the rabies and overpopulation problem.
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