County holds up .09 funding until legislature makes move

Until they see what the legislature does with .09 economic development funding, Whitman County commissioners decided Tuesday not to allocate any of the funding.

“We can’t go on the hook, say we’ll give you X amount of dollars and then not have it,” said Commissioner Pat O’Neill.

Each year, the county receives a .09 percent share of the state’s portion of sales tax revenues to use on projects that will bolster the local economy.

Clerk Maribeth Becker said she typically sends out letters to small towns and development authorities this time of the year, informing them of how much will be available for projects.

Projects are ranked for funding by a panel of county citizens, the Blue Ribbon Advisory Task Committee.

Commissioners decided not to allocate any of the funding until they see if Olympia cuts the program as the legislature tries to fill a $1.4 billion hole in its budget during its current session.

“That might be September,” said Commissioner Michael Largent.

Commissioner Greg Partch noted Gov. Chris Gregoire has floated two proposals for the funding, one would cut funding in half, while the other would eliminate it.

Whitman County typically receives around $400,000 a year for local development projects.

Since .09 funding began coming from the state in 2000, the county has made a portion of those funds available to local communities for development projects. That funding has paid for renovations to the Dahmen Barn in Uniontown, the Garfield Cafe and Rosalia’s Texaco Station Visitor’s center.

The last several years, commissioners have assigned the Blue Ribbon Advisory Task Committee $100,000 to rank and award those projects.

“I know there’s some entities out there that want that money,” said O’Neill.

The county currently has more than $1 million in saved .09 funds. Commissioners for the past several years have been withholding money to pay for infrastructure development at Boise-based Hawkins Companies’ proposed stateline strip mall. Earlier this month, commissioners decided to increase the county’s share of public infrastructure costs at the site from $9.1 million to $15 million.

County commissioners in 2002 issued $2.7 million in revenue bonds to pay for new windows and a new heating system in the courthouse. Those bonds were guaranteed with .09 money. Final payment on the courthouse bonds is due in 2015.