Broadwater County to send second letter seeking roughly $103,000 in missed solid-waste assessments

TJ Gravely, Broadwater County public works director, briefed commissioners Sept. 3 on the county's Equitable Recovery Program and asked whether the board wanted to forgive outstanding assessments or attempt further collection.

Gravely said the county initially sought $251,300 for 2022-24 assessments but had received about 59% of that amount as of May, leaving roughly $103,000 still outstanding. "Do you guys wanna forgive the rest of this money, or do you want to send out another letter and try to collect the other $103,000?" Gravely asked the commissioners.

Gravely described the potential fairness issue: residents who had paid were covering costs for those who used county solid-waste services but were not assessed. He also said about 266 property owners remain on the county list as not having paid the earlier years' assessments; among them are 64 businesses, four mobile homes, and roughly 100–109 residences (counts as described during the meeting). The outstanding accounts include some large property owners with multiple assessments.

Commissioners discussed options and agreed to attempt one more collection effort. They asked county staff to draft a follow-up letter signed by the commissioners that would acknowledge the county's error, note the number of people who have paid, remind recipients that payment plans are available, and urge those who received service to remit payment. Commissioners expressly said they did not want to pursue lien and enforcement processes at this time, and directed staff to prepare the letter promptly so it could go out before the next solid-waste board meeting.

Gravely said payment plans offered to residents on fixed incomes had been successful and that every person on a payment plan had paid off their balance. The solid-waste board is scheduled to meet Sept. 9; commissioners indicated a final decision on further enforcement could be considered at a future board meeting if needed.

One member of the public (who identified himself as Aaron Christensen) asked about decal issuance and whether residents who had not paid earlier assessments were nevertheless receiving current-year decals; staff said the county cannot fully explain why some assessments did not appear on certain tax bills and that the records will be reviewed. Gravely said he preferred another letter over starting lien actions, which the county code allows but which he said he does not want to pursue.