Lewis County Noxious Weed Control Board Coordinator Bill Wamsley addresses county commissioners Tuesday morning.
The Lewis County Noxious Weed Control Board is planning to add a weed control specialist to its staff, the result of a new property tax imposed late last year that is expected to boost funding for the board and provide more resources to fight invasive plants.
In October, county commissioners voted to levy an $8 per parcel tax to fund the board, removing it from the general fund and upping its revenue by about 30 percent. That extra money is enabling the board to bring on the new position, adding more in-the-field work to its enforcement and education role.
“The big thing would be outreach and technical assistance to landowners,” said Bill Wamsley, the board’s coordinator. “It would also be part of the survey function in terms of looking for noxious weeds, coordinating with other agencies about control. … The other big thing is doing some weed control, actually out creating dead weeds.”
The board, which primarily deals with compliance — educating property owners about the legal mandate to remove invasives on their land — has been criticized by some for not doing more to actually remove weeds. At its current funding level, it’s just not possible to conduct large-scale removal, but the new position will at least allow the board to have more of a presence in the field.
“These people are going to be out,” said county commissioner Edna Fund. “They’re not sitting in an office, they’ll be out there working with the people.”
The salary for the new position will be about $44,000, a figure commissioners approved Tuesday. With benefits, the position will cost as much as $72,000. County leaders are hoping to get the new employee on board heading into the summer season. The total funding for the Weed Board from the property tax assessment was estimated to be around $300,000, a figure it may actually exceed.
“The assessment funds are coming in quite a bit higher than we had originally budgeted,” said county budget manager Becky Butler.
Along with the new position, the extra funding may enable the weed board to provide mini-grants to landowners to enable them to conduct weed removal work on their property.
“We had a stewardship incentive program in the past where we provided some assistance to landowners,” Wamsley said. “It’s a little bit of a carrot to provide some incentive, but more importantly to provide some stewardship of the land.”
As more tax collections come in, it will become more clear what the Weed Board’s long-term funding stream looks like. That will enable leaders to have a better picture of the role of the weed control specialist will have, as well as the extent of the resources it can provide to property owners.
