Voters will decide the mills, fate of Troy Area Dispatch

The first of several votes ending a pattern of unchecked tax increases perpetuated for more than a decade will be held during June elections when voters determine the fate of Troy Area Dispatch District.

Voters in the Troy, McCormick and Yaak school districts will be asked to either support or reject a 29-mill levy requirement to maintain Troy Dispatch. Should voters reject the 29-mill levy, county commissioners would dissolve the district and Troy-area emergency calls would be handled through Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch.

The vote would potentially set a new voter-approved mill limit on the dispatch district. A 2000 vote approved an annual levy of 20 mills. However, the district has received more than that in 11 of the last 14 years. The district has received $986,000 beyond its voter-approved limit since 2000.

The near-annual tax increase was undiscussed and unknown to taxpayers for more than a decade until a recent exponential jump led to a series of stories in The Western News, which revealed a gray area in state taxation practices. State law allows for districts’ mills to float, or fluctuate with changes in property values and inflation, but the legislators who wrote the law say it was never their intent to create a way to exceed voter-approved mill limits. Troy Area Dispatch District will receive 56.86 mills during the current fiscal year due to years of floating increases and separate errors made at the Lincoln County Clerk and Recorder office.

Commissioners have the power to unilaterally dissolve a special district and nothing in state law requires an election on the topic. While all three commissioners say it is their intent to simply follow the desire of the people, they are not required to follow the result of the election.

“For me, it comes down to the people,” Commissioner Mike Cole said. “Through all our discussions on this, it became clear that (a vote) is the fairest way. We never wanted to make the decision for the people there. The county does not want to be a heavy hand.”

Lincoln County Sheriff Roby Bowe recently held three meetings discussing the feasibility of the transition of emergency calls from Troy Area Dispatch District to his office’s dispatch center. During discussions, Bowe said his office would be able to handle the calls, but the transition would accompany a $253,860 communications upgrade, which would be paid for with countywide taxes. The Sheriff’s Office would also charge Troy Police Department an estimated $10,000 a year for dispatching services.

One idea, brought up by County Clerk and Recorder Tammy Lauer, would use some of the money remaining in Troy Area Dispatch District’s capital improvements fund to pay several years of the police dispatching charge in advance.

“That is definitely a good, viable option,” Bowe said. “It is the district’s money, but that is several steps ahead.”

For now, voters must decide where they stand on Troy Dispatch.

“It’s a no-brainer for most folks moneywise,” Commissioner Ron Downey said. “You know, $250,000 a year compared to $10,000 a year. But I also understand Troy folks see it as tradition. It’s a big money difference.”

One section of law addressing the dissolution of a special district says, “The dissolution of a special district may not relieve the property owners from the assessment and payment of the sufficient amount to liquidate all charges existing against the special district prior to the date of dissolution.” In this case, the district owes the taxpayers. Commissioners say they will work to ensure Troy taxpayer money gets back to the peoples’ slightly thinner wallets.

Lauer said she plans to meet in early June with board members of the four other districts that have exceeded voter-approved mill limits: Eureka Dispatch District, Libby Park and Recreation District, Troy Park and Recreation District and Eureka Cemetery District. The meetings will determine levy requirements for each district and voters will be asked to set four more limits in November.