By Wytheville Mayor Beth Taylor
Fellow Citizens,
Hope this column finds all our citizens enjoying a happy and healthy shortest month of the year. I’m sure with the recent cold spurts, we are all ready to “leap” into spring.
Here are some timely pieces of information from our Public Safety Departments.
From the Wytheville Police Department
Tax season is upon us, and the scammers want to steal your refund. A sophisticated phone scam targeting taxpayers has been making the rounds throughout the country. Callers claim to be IRS employees, using fake names and bogus IRS identification badge numbers. They may know a lot about their targets, and they usually alter the caller ID to make it look like the IRS is calling.
Victims are told that they owe money to the IRS, and it must be paid promptly through a gift card or wire transfer. Victims may be threatened with arrest, deportation or suspension of a business or driver’s license. In many cases, the caller becomes hostile and insulting. Victims may be told that they have a refund due to try to trick them into sharing private information. If the phone isn’t answered, the scammers often leave an “urgent” callback request. The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email, text messages or social media to request personal or financial information.’
Five things the IRS will never do:
1) Call to demand immediate payment using a specific payment method such as a prepaid debit card, gift card or wire transfer. Generally, the IRS will first mail you a bill if you owe any taxes.
2) Demand that you pay taxes without the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe.
3) The IRS will never contact you by email, text, or social media.
4) Threaten to bring in local police, immigration officers, or other law enforcement to have you arrested for not paying. The IRS also cannot revoke your driver’s license, business license, or immigration status. Threats like these are common tactics scam artists use to trick victims into
buying into their schemes.
5) Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.
From the Wytheville Fire & Rescue Department
Here is a summary of the hard work of our first responders in the year 2023.
1) Total EMS responses were 3151, that averages about nine EMS responses a day.
2) Total Fire responses were 784, that averages about two per day.
3) Conducted numerous public education and engagement events.
4) The Town of Wytheville’s Fire and EMS program continues to be a “training ground” for many students from various EMS classes.
5) RIDE SAVER PROGRAM is available once again. It is designed to help citizens with out-of-pocket expenses if ‘911’ services are rendered. The out- of- pocket expenses can include health insurance co-payments, deductibles and payments not covered by insurance. Additionally, the program covers ‘interfacility transports’ should those services be needed. When signing up for the program the entire household is covered, not just the individual person. The fee is $200 per year/per household. More
information can be found by following this link:
https://fire.wytheville.org/docs/general/EMS-Ride-Saver.pdf or calling 276-
223-3314.
Real Estate Credit
Citizens, please note that the Wythe County Real Estate Credit for the Elderly and Handicapped application needs to be completed and submitted to the Wythe County Commissioner of Revenue’s office every year between Feb. 1 and May 1. Applications are available at the office located at 290 South Sixth Street. If you are eligible for the program through the County, then the Town of Wytheville will follow suit and do the same.
Council Actions
January 8, 2024:
Adopted Ordinance No. 1429, an ordinance repealing and replacing Chapter 4, Building Regulations, of the code of the Town of Wytheville, Virginia, on first and final reading.
Adopted a resolution endorsing the concept of Fair Housing.
Appointed Mr. Bradley Parks to the Wytheville Recreation Commission for a three-year term, which expires December 31, 2026.
Appointed Dr. Wendy Welch to the Wytheville Recreation Authority for a four-year term, which expires December 12, 2027.
Made the following appointments to the Wytheville Building Code Appeals Board: Mr. Donald Repass to fill an unexpired term which expires July 26, 2025; and Mr. Michael Carrico as an alternate member for a five-year term which expires July 26, 2028.
Reappointed Councilwoman Atkins to the District Three Board of Commissioners and Councilman Gillman as the alternate.
Made the following appointments to the Wytheville Rehabilitation Zone Selection Committee: Mr. Keith Jones to serve as the Wytheville Planning Commission member and Mrs. Kathleen Laster to serve as the Wytheville Economic Development Authority member (terms expire with the members’
Commission and Authority expiration dates).
January 22, 2024:
Authorized the Town Manager to spend up to $6,000 to donate to Open Door Community for the motel-based shelter program.
Adopted Ordinance No. 1428, an ordinance amended and reenacted to add the following two properties in the Housing Rehabilitation Zone: A.) the Fairview Townhomes Project located on Fairview Road (Tax Map Parcel #25-11-2); and, B.) the apartments located at 810 West Monroe Street (Tax Map Parcel #41A-7-8-1 through Tax Map Parcel #41A-7-8-16) in the Town of Wytheville, Virginia, on first and final reading.
Reappointed Mr. Micheal Melton to the Wall of Honor Committee for a four-year term, which expires February 1, 2028.
Reappointed Ms. Maelene Watson to the Wall of Honor Committee for a four-year term, which expires February 1, 2028.
I welcome the opportunity to talk to you regarding your ideas and concerns. I can be reached by phone at (276) 223-3356 or via email at [email protected] . Written correspondence may be sent to the Wytheville Municipal Building, 150 E. Monroe Street, Wytheville, VA, 24382.
