Eagle County Conservation District ballot issue picks up endorsement from River District
River District board backs local district's request for property tax levy
Eagle County Conservation District/courtesy photo
The Eagle County Conservation District is asking voters this fall for its first tax levy. Another local special district is encouraging voters to approve that levy.
The Colorado River Water Conservation District’s Board of Directors recently passed a resolution in support of the Conservation District’s ballot issue.
- The Eagle County Conservation District is asking property owners for a mill levy increase this fall
- Eligible voters are property owners in the county
- The increase is approximately $10 for every $1 million in home value
- The district is running its own election, so voters will receive separate ballots this fall
The resolution states, in part, that the Conservation District “provides many programs that align with and support the Colorado River Water Conservation District’s mission to lead in the protection, conservation, use, and development of the water resources of the Colorado River water basin for the welfare of the District.”
The Eagle River Water & Sanitation District Board of Directors this week also passed a resolution of support for the ballot measure.
Laura Bohannon, the director of the Eagle County Conservation District, said the district to this point has depended for funding on grants and an annual contribution from Eagle County. The mill levy would be its first sustained funding source.
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If approved, the levy would raise roughly $645,000 per year. The tax would add roughly $10 per year for every $1 million of a home’s value.
Bohannon said grants currently add up to roughly 90% of the district’s funding, which pays for all of the staff, including a portion of her salary.
Those grants have paid for programs including a virtual fencing program for grazing cattle. That program allows ranchers to control where their cattle graze on leased public land, helping keep the animals from damaging streamsides and other sensitive areas.
“Cattle can be used to benefit the landscape,” Bohannon said, including controlling noxious weeds on public lands. “When managed effectively, cattle are great for the landscape.”
That program is now entering its fourth and final year. Sustained funding will allow the district to seek more grant funding for cost-sharing efforts to continue the program.
The district also partners with other agencies including the Colorado State University Cooperative Extension Service and the Eagle River Coalition on the “Beyond Lawn” program that seeks to responsibly replace their lawns with water-efficient landscaping.
The Conservation District’s ballot question won’t appear on the county’s consolidated ballot. Because only property owners can vote in this election, Bohannon said the district will conduct its own election and send out ballots to eligible voters.
