County votes 2-1 to protest Olympia ag research cuts

Whitman County Commissioner Greg Partch will write a letter to someone about reported cuts to Washington State University’s agriculture research budget.

Partch, this year’s chair of the county commission, agreed to write the letter after a 2-1 vote Tuesday on whether such a letter would be written from the entire board.

Commissioner Michael Largent cast the dissenting vote.

Largent said he was unsure who was proposing the cuts, what the cuts would be and what weight a letter from Whitman County commissioners would carry in the university’s budget-making process.

Commissioner Pat O’Neill proposed county commissioners write the letter after reading an article in the Feb. 12 Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

The article reported university officials and local legislators were concerned about the possibility of cuts after legislative staffers asked to review how ag research funds have been used.

“This is an issue we should weigh in on, because it’s in our back yard,” said O’Neill.

Largent said he did not know enough about the proposal to issue a statement. He worried it might be a “letter to Santa” that would have little impact if not sent to the right decision makers.

“As a farmer, this is probably more important to me than anyone else on this board,” said Largent, who once worked in the university’s ag research center.

Largent said he had not heard of any cuts specifically targeted at the center this year.

State agencies across the board are facing cutbacks as legislators look to balance a $2.6 billion budget deficit.

Largent urged O’Neill and Partch to call state and university officials to know more about the possibility of the cuts before a letter is penned.

“If I’m going to be a part of a collective response, I think it needs to be an intelligent one,” said Largent. “Is this a PR move by us or do we want to affect change?”

Partch agreed with O’Neill that a strong statement from Whitman County commissioners is called for.

“I think we should stand up,” said Partch. “We need to be on record. We need to come out with a stance.”

Partch then offered to write a letter from the board chair. O’Neill made the motion and Partch seconded after Largent declined. They then decided on a 2-1 vote to give Partch the authority to pen a letter against the potential cuts.