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One mill tax levy on table for voters Nov. 4
By Anthony McConnell
This document was published online on Thursday, October 23, 2008
For the fourth time the Cody Conservation District is asking voters to approve a one mill tax levy.
Currently, the district's main sources of funding are the state agriculture department and its annual tree sale.
“We've gone before the voters three times in the past,” conservation district board chairman Mack Frost said. “Last time we were narrowly defeated.”
The Cody district is one of two in the state that does not receive taxpayer support, Frost said. The Powell-Clarks Fork Conservation District is the other.
One mill would generate about $360,000 and cost individual property owners $12-$20 annually.
“We're asking for up to one mill, but we think we would need about half of that, maybe less,” Frost said. “That's the cost of two or three lattes a year.”
He explained that if the mill levy is approved the district would submit an annual budget to the county commissioners and only the amount actually needed would be levied.
The main reason the district is seeking the mill levy is to hire a resource specialist to attend meetings, help develop new programs and report to the district board.
The district currently consists of a six-member elected board and one staff member. The board works with the BLM, Bureau of Reclamation, Forest Service and other conservation districts on land use and conservation issues.
“The board, while elected, is essentially an unpaid volunteer group of concerned citizens,” Frost said. “We don't always have the time to attend every meeting. This additional staff position would help us better represent the people of Park County.”
Currently the district is working to develop a watershed project that will ensure the cleanliness of the Shoshone River - without interference from the federal government. It would also help prevent the Department of Environmental Quality from listing the Shoshone as “impaired,” Frost said.
He added that several years ago all of the Shoshone River from Buffalo Bill Dam was listed as impaired by the DEQ. This was done at the request of several environmental groups and without scientific evidence.
Once the district learned of the listing they took water samples and were able to prove the portion of the Shoshone from the dam to near Powell was not impaired and DEQ subsequently removed that portion from the list, Frost said.
“There are a number of groups that exist for no other reason than to file lawsuits for whatever they are campaigning for or against,” Frost said. “If we don't get a little help, the environmental extremists are going to inundate the court system.”
Another of the district's successes is its noxious weed program on the South Fork. Through the use of biological controls such as insects and other environmental friendly methods the district was able to help landowners eliminate and control several forms of noxious weeds, Frost said.
These methods have been “highly effective and are environmentally sound,” he added.
The group also provides information to people on the best plants and trees for the area as well as information on composting and building windbreaks.
In addition to the mill levy request, three members of the district board are up for re-election in the November general election. Pete Jachowski, Mac Lewis and Marilyn Walker are running unopposed.
(Anthony McConnell can be reached at anthony@codyenterprise.com.)
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F.E. wrote on Oct 27, 2008 6:16 PM: