Editor, Gazette-Journal:

The purpose of this letter is to clear up some misunderstandings regarding the compensation to Mathews County Constitutional Office employees from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. In February 2003, the Mathews Commissioner of the Revenue’s office and the Treasurer’s office became the first in the Commonwealth to jointly offer DMV Select services to our citizens. As part of the new state law that allows this arrangement, a percentage of all DMV fees generated by these offices is to be returned to Mathews County.

The law requires that 80 percent of these returned funds are to be appropriated to the constitutional offices as compensation for the additional duties that are performed for DMV. The law specifically states that these funds shall not be used to offset the salaries of the employees of the offices or to reduce the local share of the state-approved salaries for these employees. This money is additional compensation for additiona...