Commissioners near end of budget work

Wahkiakum County commissioners hope to finish work on their 2009 budgets at 2 p.m. today (Thursday) in a meeting continued from their regular Tuesday meeting.

With vacationing Commissioner George Trott stuck in Belize with flight trouble, Commissioners Dan Cothren and Blair Brady took input at a public hearing on Monday and agreed Tuesday they would impose an additional tenth of a percent sales tax.

The tax will raise about $23,000, but levying it qualifies the county to seek $100,000 or more in state funding for health and human services.

The commissioners also delayed a decision on whether or not to increase the county property tax levy until Trott could return.

"I think we'd have a split vote," Brady commented Tuesday. "Dan's against raising taxes. It's a small amount, just $2-3 per person per year, but it would really help in seeking funds from state officials who will want to know if we've used all our revenue sources."

The two commissioners agreed to restore funding for the Wahkiakum Chamber of Commerce to be used for a part-time manager.

The commissioners had cut the $10,000 funding, but restored $8,000 after hearing requests from members of the Chamber of Commerce and the Lower Columbia Economic Development Council press for the funding.

State law allows you to appropriate money from the Rural Counties Public Facilities fund for the position, said Chamber member Tim Hanigan.

"This is one way you can show support to the business community of Wahkiakum County," he said.

Richard Erickson, retired executive director of the Lower Columbia Economic Development Council, reviewed economic successes of the EDC and the Chamber in past three years--increased Chamber membership, the expansion of the Elochoman Slough Marina facilities, growth in bed and breakfast and other tourism related businesses, and the development of the Farmers’ Market. Projects under development include a business park and, for the Town of Cathlamet, a new wastewater treatment plant.

“The momentum we have created is the momentum that will carry us through these times,” he said. “We won’t have to turn people away if we get a business park.”

On Tuesday, Brady announced that the county had reached agreement with Washington State University Cooperative Extension and the Wahkiakum Fair Board for budgeting for those programs in 2009.

The county will fund Extension $10,000 in professional fees for its share of the county agent salary.

Extension will employ a manager for the county fair, and the county will fund that positon $17,500. However, after 2009, Brady said, it is the fair board’s intention to be self-supporting and not need county funding for staffing.

In other business, commissioners amended the 2009 road construction program and the six-year road program to accommodate a transfer of $100,000 from the County Road Fund to the Current Expense Fund for 2009.

Public Works Director Pete Ringen asked the commissioners if they would state that the diversion was a temporary move, and the board agree that it was and would be noted in the minutes.

Auditor Diane Tischer added that the board and Assessor Sulema Zerr would have to have in writing the details of the diversion to make it official.

The board also approved an agreement with Elliott Bay Design Group for design of a replacement for the ferry “Wahkiakum”.

The work will cost $149,632 with the first phase completed in mid-2009. Ringen estimated it could take three years to come up with a final design because the county is relying on federal funding to cover costs.