Commissioners approve assessment to fund county conservation district

EPHRATA — The Grant County Commission unanimously approved a small property tax increase on Tuesday to fund the work of the Grant County Conservation District.

The move — which imposes an assessment of $5 per parcel of agricultural land along with an additional 10 center per acre ($4.96 plus 6 or 7 cents per acres for residential, commercial, or industrial property) — will provide the conservation district with a dedicated source of funding that it currently lacks.

“We are primarily funded by grants,” Harold Cose, a resource conservationist with the conservation district, told county commissioners during a public hearing on Tuesday.

“But there are problems with grant money. It’s harder to find, and you have to come up with matching money, up to 25 percent. The funding is drying up, and there’s more competition,” Crose explained.

The move is expected to generate between $350,000 and $400,000 per year for the conservation district’s activities, which are designed to help landowners find ways to deal with soil erosion, save water, and preserve wildlife habitat.

According to Crose, among the district’s major accomplishments since it was formed in the early 1940s was to encourage farmers to plant cover crops for forage in order to protect the soil and reduce the amount of dust in the air.

Marie Lotz, a manager with the conservation district, said that despite the project with David Bailey’s lakeshore home in Moses Lake, the conservation district serves farmers the most, and that’s why the rates on agricultural land are the highest.

However, the district also works with property owners in the five cities — Moses Lake, Ephrata, Quincy, Warden and Royal — that opted to become a part of the district when it was formed.

Other cities in Grant County did not join the conservation district, and are exempt from the assessment.

“There was a lot of degradation on the shoreline of my house,” said David Bailey, who sought out the conservation district’s services when he sought to restore the shore behind his Moses Lake home.

“We did a total bank restoration project with natural grass and trees that has stabilized things,” Bailey told the commissioners. “It adds to the natural look of the shoreline and it’s a great duck habitat. The neighbors were interested as well.”

While the commissioners were supportive of the measure, they also had some concerns. Richard Stevens, who represents the northern portion of Grant County, wanted to know if there was a limit on the number of acres a dry-land wheat farmer might be assessed.

“We kept that all the same, and we’ve not made a distinction,” Cose said. “There is no upper level.”

Tom Taylor, who represents the south-east corner of the county that includes most of Moses Lake, wanted some clarification on the appeal process if landowners dispute their assessment.

“I’m not going to have a problem with this, but people out there will,” Taylor said. “I want to make sure the appeals process is set out.”

County officials agreed that it would be like any levy or assessment currently on the property tax bill. The conservation district assessment alone could be appealed, or paid under protest, but it would have to be paid first before any appeal could be decided.

“We don’t allow people to pick and choose which taxes they will pay,” said Commission Chair Cindy Carter.

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached via email at countygvt@columbiabasinherald.com