Mill levy would raise at least $80K for conservation

A handful of voters in Sweetwater County will decide in November whether the Little Snake River Conservation District will assess up to 1 mill on lands within its newly expanded boundaries, which now span millions of acres across the eastern half of the county. The district already assesses a mill within its Carbon County boundaries.

Little Snake River's new territory includes ample industry-heavy areas in Sweetwater County and, if the mill levy were passed, the bulk of revenue would come from ad valorem taxes on mineral production. The district's officials have not been able to calculate estimated revenue from that source but a levy of 1 mill would raise at least $80,105 - based on current assessed values - from taxing the land itself, with roughly 94% of that revenue coming from industrial land.

"What is ... not known at this time is the production value of the oil and natural gas within the boundary," County Assessor Dave Divis told the Star in an email. "That unknown value will be reported by the producers and added to the valuation of the district as it is paid to the Mineral Tax Division of the Department of Revenue and then distributed to the Treasurer's Office."

During a July commission meeting, Commissioner Doc Wendling and Little Snake River officials predicted that revenue from mineral production would far exceed the tax revenue from land.

"One mill could raise up to $1 million, and that burden would be carried primarily by (Black Butte Mine) and some of the big oil and gas industries in the area," Wendling said.

After the Wyoming Board of Agriculture approved Little Snake River's boundary adjustment in June, Sweetwater County Commissioners opted to allow the conservation district to put a mill levy on the ballot, with Wendling being the only "no" vote.

Commissioner Lauren Schoenfeld contended that, given the tax rates the minerals industry faces in other states, the tax burden in Sweetwater County would still be more-than-fair, even with the passage of another levy.

"I agree that they're carrying the brunt (of the taxation), but they're also using our land and our property to better their companies and make money off the land we have here in Sweetwater County," she said. "We should hold them accountable for taking care of that land."

Larry Hicks, natural resource manager for the district, told commissioners that his organization's expansion westward was the result of a decade of talks with the Sweetwater County Conservation District, which voluntarily ceded some of its jurisdiction.

Despite encompassing a vast stretch of Sweetwater County, the new section of the Little Snake River Conservation district, which includes most of the land in the county east of Point of Rocks, had just 5 registered voters as of July. The boundaries of the conservation district do not encompass more significantly populated locations in that region, including Wamsutter and the northeast section of the county where Bairoil lies.

While he ultimately voted in favor of allowing the mill levy to be included on the ballot, Commissioner Roy Lloyd expressed some concern in July about the number of voters.

"I struggle with knowing that five voters host such a large wielding of power over what could be a large dollar amount," he said.

While industrial land and production would account for the bulk of the talk revenue, the total agricultural land within the district's boundaries - currently assessed at $5.1 million - would provide some funding in annual tax revenue.

The largest players in agricultural land ownership are the Rock Springs Grazing Association and Aggie Grazing, which own combine to own $1.2 million of land - based on current assessed values - within the new district's boundaries.

Hicks told commissioners that the Little Snake River Conservation District's expansion into Sweetwater County was a natural result of the region's connection with western Carbon County, both in regard to the watershed's structure and the local community.

"Almost all of the ranches in that area (of Carbon County) have grazing allotments in Sweetwater County," he said. "We have an oil and gas industry that's intricately connected. Many of the people who live in that valley work in oil and gas. ... Our economic hub is really both counties."

In the last 20 years, the district has completed millions of dollars worth of water conservation projects in Sweetwater County, including wells, pipelines, ponds and stockwater projects.

Additional funding from a mill levy would help the district receive more grant funding, Hicks said, noting that, during the previous six years, the district has averaged 5.7 dollars in grant funding per every dollar from tax revenue.

Other work in Sweetwater County has also included suing the Bureau of Land Management to limit the number of wild horses in the Adobe Town area. From a conservation standpoint, the horses' winter diet in the Adobe Town area is particularly harmful, Hicks said, because the horses primarily consume the same shrubs that are relied on by mule deer, pronghorn and sage grouse.

The district is also a cooperating agency on many federal land-use plans. Federal agencies and the district have, at times, shared technical experts for work on each others' projects. The more funding the district has, the more jobs it's also able to create for the local economy, Hicks said.

As the Sweetwater County Commission's lone dissenting vote on allowing the levy to go on the ballot this fall, Wendling expressed concern about the impact of the mill levy on industry in the area, noting that residents voting on the proposal won't be the only ones impacted.

Wendling also said he wished the Sweetwater County Conservation District had publicized the impending boundary change more before it was finalized.

Tom Burris, who chairs the Sweetwater County Conservation District's board, said the boundary change should "improve the service to the agricultural folks in the eastern part of the county."

"Sweetwater County (Conservation District) is all volunteer except for one person on staff," he said during a July commission reading. "Little Snake has engineers and hired staff to be able to do a lot of functions that we can't possibly do."