By: James Pruitt
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
Williams County residents who live along ditches the county takes care of could see some changes on their tax bills next year.
More than 45 Williams County residents filled the Commissioners’ Chambers June 6 to learn about a new formula that will offer standardized approaches to determining assessments for ditches under permanent maintenance. The system could mean some residents paying as little as $10 per parcel.
Ditch Manager and Drainage Engineer Bill Fritch laid out the new system for property owners from Brady, Jefferson, Center, St. Joseph, Millcreek, Northwest, Springfield and Superior townships.
The system sets a minimum of $10 per parcel and a maximum of $100 per acre, depending the ditch, the watershed, soil type and use of the land.
“We have to make sure assessments are being done correctly,” Fritch said.
One way to do that is through digital mapping of the various watersheds. The new approach is making for seamless edges between watersheds, ensuring an accurate assessment, he said.
Properties are assessed only if the fund needs to be built back up. That amount is determined by taking the cost of the original work, updating according to inflation and then making sure 20 percent is kept in the fund.
The county has 200 ditches under maintenance and each has its own fund. Fritch’s job is to keep track of each maintained ditch.
“This is the fourth year we’ve done this,” Fritch said about the public meeting. “We have to get everyone on the same method. This is not a new tax or a new project.”
Fritch and the commissioners first met with residents of Brady Township to talk about three ditches: Walnut Run, Batterson and Hatchel.
Walnut Run residents will be assessed anywhere from $10-$30 per parcel. The ditch was constructed in the 1990s and receives maintenance each year. The fund has to have a minimum of $110,000.
Batterson property owners could see assessments run toward the upper limit in a worst-case scenario, which may never happen, Fritch said. Its fund will be $50,000.
Hatchel is tile and requires little maintenance and requires a fund balance of $3,000.
The process was repeated for a separate meeting of residents from other townships. Fritch emphasized the assessments will be done only if there is a need for work on a particular ditch.
James Pruitt may be reached at
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
1 Comment
And by “ditch” they mean stream. We have straightened these meandering streams to speed up the timetable for getting floodwater off of agricultural lands. This reduces the stress to crops and saves some of them. The trade-off? A tremendous loss of biodiversity within the streams themselves and more water speed/volume when the biggest floods occur. As our friends in West Virginia can attest this week, each time you modify nature there is a heavy price to pay.