Commissioners discuss .09

Whitman County Commissioners have decided to hold a workshop to address what criteria they plan to prioritize to which ‘larger economically significant projects’ they might award the .09 funds which derive from sales and use tax revenue.

The funds had been set aside for the Hawkins property, which had been a projected site for a shopping mall, but was sold in August, ending those plans.

“Since Hawkins went away, I get a lot of people chatting about that .09,” said Commissioner Michael Largent. “Do we have enough guidance overall in the new post-Hawkins era?”

Largent opened the discussion at the commissioners workshop on Tuesday, wondering if the other commissioners felt a need to dig more into how they should use the funds.

“The question that people might ask is: what are we accumulating money for? Why are we keeping a certain balance? And what potential use is that sort of thing?”

The Board of County Commissioners choose where the funds are to go, whether those moneys go to a large single project or several smaller one.

“Well, there’s money there and people are going, ‘can I get some?’ And as Maribeth (Becker, clerk) likes to point out, there’s very specific rules on what it can be used for,” said Commissioner Art Swannack.

The commissioners can assign discretionary awards using the funds, and have granted some awards in the past, such as to the fair.

“There’s going to be a lot of pressure on us,” stated Largent.

“That’s what I think,” Swannack agreed. “How much do we want in a fund before the BOCC itself requests people to apply for it?”

Largent commented on his intent to review the county’s policies for the funds, expressing his desire for the funds to be used to most benefit the county.

“What’s the best mechanism to do that? How much do we need to hold back for contingencies?” Largent wondered in the meeting.

The commissioners already know of some big projects that they have been approached about to support such as the Port of Whitman’s fiber project and the City of Colfax’s Greenway project.