Highland County will be recouping some money due to non-usage of some properties during solar projects, according to auditor Alex Butler at the weekly Wednesday meeting of the Highland County Board of Commissioners.

Butler announced that the Highland County has billed $373,578 for recoupment of a total of 4,487 acres of land from solar projects under construction as it pertains to the Current Agricultural Use Value (CAUV) program.

“If a parcel is not used for the various purposes that qualify for CAUV, it is to be taken out of the program and the last three years of savings recouped,” Butler said. “So, we have done that and billed those property owners and that’ll be reflected. They were sent notices over a month ago. So, they are aware of that but we are going to be recouping.”

He said the county has had “a number of parcels” in the CAUV program that were used for farming but are now a part of the “many” solar projects under development in Highland County. He said the relevant parcels haven’t been used, qualifying them for the CAUV program, which is why the county is taking them out of the program and recouping the money.

Butler said the county has not received notification from the state that any of its solar projects are operational or that it would be receiving a pilot payment “anytime soon.”

In other finance news, Butler also gave new information on the permissive sales tax receipts. He said that Highland County received $806,947 in sales tax receipts for January 2024, a 9-percent increase compared to last year.

The board accepted a bid from Unger Construction for Rocky Fork Lake shut-off valves, with the bid valued at $680 per unit per clean-out.

There were also three contracts approved by the board:

* Contract 4 is between the board, the Highland County Child Support Enforcement Agency and Adam J. King for an Administrative Hearing Officer IV-D Contract with Attorney Adam J. King for the Child Support Enforcement Agency.

* Contract 5 is between the board and the city of Hillsboro for indigent defense from Jan. 1, 2024, to Dec. 31, 2024.

* Contract 6 is between the board and Hillsboro Business Complex, LLC for Economic Development rental space from Feb. 2, 2024, to Jan. 31, 2025.

Reach Jacob Clary at 937-402-2570.