The Pierce County Council may choose not to renew an assessment fee currently used to fund the Pierce Conservation District - a subdivision of state government in existence since 1949, created to help farmers and landowners manage natural resources and be better stewards of the environment. The Pierce Conservation District relies on a $5 assessment fee on every parcel of property in Pierce County for the majority of its budget (about $1.2 million), but also receives about $700,000 in grants from the state and federal governments and private foundations. The assessment fee funding the Pierce Conservation District has been renewed by the Pierce County Council on an annual basis for the past two years, but now faces an uncertain future - with the council set to make a decision on its fate after a public hearing Dec. 14.

The assessment fee has come under scrutiny after a lawsuit was filed against King and Pierce counties and their respective conservation districts, claiming that the fee is an illegal tax.

"We don't think the lawsuit has much merit," says Monty Mahan, executive director of Pierce Conservation District.

Still, it has caused hesitation to renew the assessment amongst many members of the Pierce County Council, who worry about the legal liability of the county.

Because of this, the Council is considering slashing the Pierce Conservation District's budget and imposing narrow regulations on what sort of projects the District may support. If the assessment fee is not renewed Conservation District funds will come directly from Pierce County's annual budget - and equal at most about half the amount the assessment currently yields. Furthermore, the new funding will be only available for water-related programs, disqualifying many of the District's most successful and popular programs.

Consequently service programs oriented toward nutrition, community gardens, farmers markets, local farmers, and animal owners and more would be eliminated.

The Pierce Conservation District currently employs 11 staff members, many now in danger of having their jobs eliminated.  In addition, the District pumps about $500,000 per year into the local economy to sustain environmental professionals and local farmers.

Mahan is hopeful that the assessment will be renewed and that the district as we know it will remain intact.

"An assessment fee ordinance has been introduced by Council Members Terry Lee, Tim Farrell, Dick Muri that will go through the hearing process," he explains, noting that if the ordnance is passed the assessment fee will be renewed. "Many council members have assured me they do not attend to have a single job lost (at the Pierce Conservation District) and that they understand the value of what we do."