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Thursday, March 20, 2008

Agency Seeks Voters' OK on Mill Levy

By Laura Nesbitt
Mountain View Telegraph
    The East Torrance Soil and Water Conservation District will ask voters to approve a mill levy renewal on May 2.
    "There is a difference in this mill levy and the last. This will include landowners in municipalities.
    "If you live in rural East Torrance, it won't change a thing. If you live in a city, it'll add a little bit less than 3.3 cents for (every) $10,000 of appraised property value," said Ryan Schwebach, the district's vice chairman.
    The district was organized in 1943 and is similar to a county or a school district. It is responsible for the conservation and sustainability of natural resources in the 1,142,028 acres of land in Torrance County, according to agency material.
    Soil and water conservation districts are authorized by the state to have a levy of up to 0.001, called one mill, on every $10,000 of appraised property value, Schwebach said. A mill levy represents "one of the ways that a conservation district can collect funds to do its work," he said.
    Every 10 years in a sunset clause, the conservation district has a choice to either ask voters to reapprove the existing mill levy or go into debt "and as long as you're in debt, you can keep the mill levy," Schwebach said.
    "We decided not to go into debt. East Torrance (SWCD) has done a lot of good for the citizens of its district. We believe it's time to ask the citizens, to let them know we're working for them," Schwebach said.
    Annually, the district collects $64,000 in mill levy monies. That money goes to many programs, including:
   

Information and education programs for all ages, such as stick-horse races, corn shucking, pig chase and banana split eating contests during the Torrance County Fair.
   

Erosion control programs such as revegetation, diversion, construction, windbreaks and grade stabilization.
   

Groundwater protection programs such as plugging abandoned wells, and assisting with proper well location and construction.
   

Irrigation water conservation programs to improve system efficiencies to reduce groundwater depletion.
   

Group projects assisting schools, nonprofit organizations and local governments to obtain grants for tree planting projects.
   

Mill levy money has helped build such projects as Arthur Park, Torreon Community Center and McIntosh Senior Center.
    The public is welcome to attend board meetings at 3 p.m. on the second Wednesday of the month at the USDA Service Center, 715 S. Fifth Ave., Estancia.
    823-7101