craigdailypress.com

No Moffat County officials are up for election this November, but it will be an important election for the county all the same.

The commissioners plan to introduce a ballot question that asks voters to free the county budget from the restrictions of a 1917 law. The law limits government growth to 5.5 percent annually.

Getting the question on the ballot will be easy, Moffat County budget analyst Tinneal Gerber said. The commissioners just have to submit it to the Clerk and Recorder's Office by July 31.

Getting the public to understand the importance of the question will be the important part, Gerber said.

"Voters need to understand exactly what the situation is and what we're asking for," Commissioner Tom Gray said.

The situation

Faced with revenue shortfalls, the commissioners had to cut $1 million from the 2004 budget. The next year, tax revenues increased. But the commissioners had cut the budget back so hard that the county couldn't accept all the money without violating the 5.5 percent growth restriction.

The tax money is in limbo right now. If voters exempt the county from the restriction this fall, then the county can use the money. If they reject the exemption, the county has to return the money.

But most of the money will return to the major taxpayers -- the coal mines and oil and gas companies. Gerber has estimated that the average taxpayer would receive about $6 if the question were rejected.

That's the same amount Craig Rural Fire Protection District asked voters for last November.

Voters rejected the tax hike.

Upcoming impacts

An attempt to get Salt River Project's assessed value raised again could get the county in a bind with the restriction.

Late last year, the county hired a contractor, E3 Consulting, which found the state is undervaluing the Craig Power Plant company by about $10 million.

Officials say that means the county, the Moffat County School District, and other tax districts are losing out on nearly $700,000 in taxes.

The county filed a complaint with the state Board of Assessment Appeals, but no date has been set for the appeal hearing.

Assessor Suzanne Brinks isn't pushing for one yet.

Even if the county wins the appeal, it might not be able to accept all the taxes from the new valuation. The jump in taxes could violate the 5.5 percent growth restriction, Brinks said.

It's also possible that the county couldn't accept all the taxes the pipeline companies, Entrega and El Paso, would owe after building two pipelines proposed for construction across Moffat County.

The question

The commissioners haven't discussed what form the ballot question would take, but they are in agreement that one needs to be written, Gray said.

Gray favors a question that would include a clause that sets a date for the exemption to sunset.

"5.5 percent has been good enough from 1917 until now. I don't want to see government grow faster than 5.5 percent. Our economy doesn't grow that fast," G ray said.

But he supports the exemption for now, while Moffat County is recovering financially.

The commissioners will introduce the proposal to county employees during a strategic planning workshop at the end of the month. With a work force of more than 200, word of mouth could do a lot to help the county's efforts, Gerber said.

The county also might host public meetings to inform voters about the subject.

Rob Gebhart can be reached at 824-7031 or rgebhart@craigdailypress.com.