A dust-up over new road tax

Inter Lake editorial

The Flathead County commissioners should expect an earful of complaints when they take up the issue of a rural special improvement district for paving Creston and Mennonite Church roads.

And the complaints will be coming from residents with considerable justification. To understand their perspective, all you have to do is imagine your county property tax bill being boosted by $800 a year for the next 15 years to pay for paving that is only necessary because more people moved into your neighborhood.

For certain, the county is in a jam that few people completely comprehend. On the one hand, the state Department of Environmental Quality has been fielding increasing complaints about summer dust pollution, and has been leaning hard on the county to address the problem. On the other hand, funding for the county's road department just isn't what it was back in the day, when the county got a generous share of federal timber sale revenue.

The current federal payment in lieu of taxes program has provided some compensation, but not enough for county to be in a position to pave 700 miles of gravel roads in the near future. For decades, gravel roads were just fine, but things have changed with a growing population and development in rural areas.

To address that situation, the county commissioners understandably approved a policy requiring that residents in new developments waive their right to protest special improvement districts such as the one proposed for the Creston area. Problem is, long-time residents may be outnumbered by the waivers from their newer neighbors. For the RSID to proceed, the county needs waivers from just 50 percent of the tract owners.

In this case, the commissioners should recognize the variety of unfair circumstances involved. They need to put themselves in the shoes of 144 property owners who are going to be smacked with significant tax increases at a time of national recession and high unemployment in the Flathead Valley.

There may be a way to lighten the burden. Just a few months ago, the county was prepared to pitch in for 38 percent of the paving project cost with its available budget. But since then, Congress passed the huge stimulus bill that was partly aimed at easing taxpayer burdens.

And lo and behold, the Creston paving project qualifies for about $429,000 in stimulus funds. Rather than sticking with the 38 percent cost-share, perhaps the county should boost its contribution to the project if the stimulus funding comes to pass.

There is nothing stimulating, after all, about burying an entire neighborhood with a substantial 15- to 20-year tax burden.