MLIRD bill passes

County treasurer says there is still a problem

OLYMPIA – Senate Bill 5460, a bill intended to restore Moses Lake Irrigation and Rehabilitation District’s ability to fund itself, passed the state House Wednesday. The bill doesn’t hit the mark according to local officials, but legislators feel that it at least restores MLIRD’s ability to raise money. “I think what we’ve done with that (bill) is allow it to continue to be effective for the community and continue to assess what’s needed to meet the (MLIRD) budget,” said Judy Warnick (R-Moses Lake), prime sponsor of the bill. The bill, which has passed both the House and Senate unanimously, specifically applies to Moses Lake because the MLIRD is the only district of its kind in the state. Due to this special circumstance, and the legislation that applied to the special district had been recently ruled on in county court, current legislation wasn’t sufficient to meet the district’s needs in being able to assess and collect the assessments. However, the passed legislation limits the amount of money that can be raised to about $150,000 when past budgets for the district have called for roughly $2 million or a little less...