Conservation tax could be permanent

Twice in 10 years Spokane County voters have told county commissioners they want to buy land for conservation. Now commissioners wonder whether they should stop asking.

The Conservation Futures tax – 6 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value – likely will become permanent if voters consent in an advisory question on the Nov. 6 general election ballot.

For the owner of a $150,000 home, the tax would cost $9 a year.

Under state law, commissioners don’t need voter approval to impose the tax, which was authorized in 1971. Commissioners temporarily implemented the tax without voter approval in 1994, but they sought permission before renewing it for five years in 1997 and again in 2002.

Support for the tax grew substantially between the first and second votes. The measure had 53.6 percent support in 1997 and 59.8 percent support in 2002.

The tax will expire on Dec. 31 unless commissioners renew it.

Supplemented with $4.2 million worth of grants, the tax has been used to purchase 4,296 acres of undeveloped land as natural buffers to urban areas and passive recreation areas. Most recently, the county has acquired 390 acres of elk and moose habitat on Antoine Peak about two miles north of Trent Avenue and Barker Road.

The Legislature moved in 2005 to answer one of the chief complaints about the tax: that it provided no money to take care of the purchased land. Now, 15 percent of the tax may be used for maintenance.

County officials recently took a dollar from the tax fund to “buy” 56 acres of undeveloped land next to Holmberg Park so the donated property could be maintained as conservation land.