Archive for Sunday, July 9, 2006

Archive for Sunday, July 9, 2006

Commission to discuss city refund

July 9, 2006

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Moffat County commissioners are expected to give $9,900 back to the city of Craig at their meeting Tuesday.

The money, which the city paid the county in the form of a fee for sales tax distribution, has been a contentious issue between the two entities in recent months.

Moffat County Budget Analyst Tinneal Gerber said a Colorado Department of Revenue policy that took effect early this year said the county Treasurer's Office was responsible for doling out sales tax revenue to the cities.

In the past, the Department of Revenue distributed sales tax revenue, Gerber said.

The state also required the county to charge a fee to the cities for distributing the money, Gerber said.

But Craig City Manager Jim Ferree said the city hadn't budgeted for the fee, which totaled about $4,500 per month.

Gerber said the city and county worked with the state to have the rules changed back so the state is again responsible for doling out sales tax revenue to local governments.

But the commissioners have to give the go-ahead to refund the money that the city was already charged, Gerber said.

Commissioners will vote on the refund at 11 a.m. Tuesday in the Moffat County commissioners' chambers, 221 W. Victory Way.

Also at Tuesday's meeting, commissioners will discuss the Bureau of Land Management's grazing policies.

Moffat County natural resources director Jeff Comstock said county officials have heard that the BLM is working on a national policy regarding sage grouse habitat and wildlife grazing.

If the BLM makes any changes to grazing policy, the county wants it to be done on the local level, not the national level, Comstock said.

"We don't want top-down direction from Washington," Comstock said.

Local working groups are the most effective way to deal with rangeland policy, Comstock said.

Commissioners are expected to vote on sending a letter to the Society for Range Management at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.

The Society for Range Management is a professional society that works with people who use the nation's rangelands.

Comstock said the county doesn't know much about what BLM is planning, and they hope Society for Range Management can give them some information.

"It's a letter trying to get the facts so we don't get left in the dark," Comstock said.

David Boyd, a spokesman for BLM on the Western Slope, said the bureau is working on its grazing regulations. A draft of the regulations should be released later this year, he said.

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