Eureka dispatch overtaxed
Since its second year of existence, Eureka Area Dispatch District has received more tax mills than the 11 it was designed to not exceed when created in 1998. Joyce Hudson, the only chairperson in the district’s history, has always known this.
“We budget for 11 mills and the county sends us more,” Hudson said. “I contacted the county years ago and was told there was extra money to divide throughout the county.”
It now appears Eureka Area Dispatch District received more than $450,000 in excess tax money. This year the district is overdrawn by $61,745.97.
The number of mills the district has received increased in each of its first 12 years, from the 11 mills it was said to not exceed on the interlocal agreement that created the district 16 years ago, until the 2010-2011 fiscal year, when the district received 15.8 mills, valued at $187,956.80. This year, the district received 15.29 mills, valued at $220,068.97. Mill values change every year within districts. The value of a mill is calculated by multiplying the taxable value of all properties within a district times one-tenth of a cent.
The scenario in Eureka is a familiar one. An investigation by The Western News last month has raised numerous questions about how mills are levied within districts. It has since been revealed that Troy Area Dispatch District and Troy Park and Recreation District have received more than $1 million in tax revenue above their voted limits.
How districts with voted limits went so long receiving extra mills remains uncertain.
“Oh, man,” Eureka Commissioner Mike Cole said when learning of the situation with Eureka Dispatch. “There is a miscommunication going on here. We’re going to get it straightened out. This sure is embarrassing. It seems like as time went on information got lost.”
Lincoln County Clerk and Recorder Tammy Lauer thinks she may have found the crux of the issue. According to her, Montana Initiative No. 105 may be the key. The 1986 initiative sought to freeze property taxes, but was rapidly amended. Lauer believes the initiative may have allowed for mills to increase over time.
The Lincoln County Clerk and Recorder’s office has spent what is normally a quiet January researching documents dating as far back at the 1950s to understand how and why their standard operating procedure seems to fly in the face of what voters supported. Answers remain elusive, but the county plans to contract a full audit of district books. A meeting between Lincoln County commissioners is scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday to address the issue. The meeting will be held in the County Commissioners room in the Lincoln County Courthouse.
At a Monday meeting at the Troy City Hall, Troy Area Dispatch District Chairman Gene Rogers said his district is willing to drop to one mill next year.
“We are willing to do whatever we can to get the money back to the taxpayers,” Rogers said. “We should be able to run for three years on our current funds.”
The specter of repaying taxpayers is a popular one, but would be heavily burdensome according to the Lincoln County Treasurers office.
“I spoke to (the Montana Association of Counties), and they said it would be nearly impossible to pay back the taxes,” Lauer said at the meeting in Troy. “The best way to make it up to taxpayers is to go with less mills.”
Rogers admitted at the meeting that he did not fully understand his district’s budget.
“I’m the chairman, and I’m responsible for this,” Rogers said. “I’m sorry. We can drop to one mill, I don’t have a problem with that.”
Eureka Area Dispatch District listed $175,156 under capital improvements in its final 2013-2014 fiscal year budget. The district reported $79,223 in cash on hand.
There are 34 county districts. According to Lauer, at least a third of the districts operate without a full board.
“It is a volunteer position,” Troy Mayor Darren Coldwell said. “Trying to find people to sit on a board is very difficult. These guys weren’t trying to steal. They just didn’t know what they were doing.”