Ellensburg, Kittitas County — The Kittitas County Board of Commissioners voted to approve a resolution increasing county weed-control assessments after a public hearing held in the Commissioner's Auditorium. County weed program staff told commissioners that expenses have outpaced revenues for years and that reserves are declining, and proposed raising the per-parcel assessment for most county lands from $15.40 to $18.

Tom Davis, a presenter for the county weed program, told the commissioners that total annual revenues are about $513,000, split roughly between district contracts ($223,000) and county assessments ($208,000), with roughly $80,000 coming from interagency contracts with state agencies. "We've been running on that same assessment countywide for the past, like, 13 years. And we're finally at the point where, like, we need to bump up the assessment if we're gonna continue our program as it is," Davis said.

The presentation included charts showing that, over about the last 15 years, expenditures rose faster than revenues (presenter cited an approximate 99% increase in expenditures versus a 52% increase in revenues). Staff said the fund built reserves after 2008 to roughly six months of operating expenses but expects the balance to fall to about $125,000–$150,000 by year-end unless changes are made.

Under the approved proposal, the regular county assessment for "all other lands" would increase to $18 per parcel. Forest lands would continue to be charged one-tenth of the regular rate (reported as $1.54 under the current structure), and the county would extend assessments to incorporated cities at half the regular rate (presenter cited about $9 per parcel) instead of only collecting from the City of Ellensburg as it does now. The program also included a new charge for state transportation routes assessed by road miles (presenter cited $4 per state route mile and $8 per interstate mile). Davis said the proposal would shift roughly 70% of the revenue to all-other-lands, about 29% to cities and roughly 1% from DOT roads.

Commissioners asked for clarifications about statutory authority and past litigation regarding DOT charges. Davis and staff referenced "RCOE 17 10" and said the legislature permitted road-mile charges for state agencies. Commissioners also questioned vehicle replacement plans and the rising cost of benefits and wages; Davis reported that benefits have increased approximately 161% since 2008 and that starting wages are roughly $20.21 an hour, which has made hiring and retaining trained seasonal staff more difficult.

During public comment, Karen Olsen, who identified herself as a weed district board chair, said reserves are nearly gone and supported the increase: "I think it's a good idea to to increase the assessment in these plans." Another resident, Rob Atkinson, asked whether the county assessment would be in addition to separate weed district charges such as the $45-per-landowner rate; staff did not change the proposal in response to that question during the hearing.

A commissioner moved to approve "resolution 2025-215, revising assessments"; the motion was seconded and, following a roll call of ayes, the chair announced the motion passed. The board recorded affirmative votes and closed the hearing with no further business.

The resolution sets the new minimum at $18 per parcel for the county's "all other lands" calculation and adds incorporated lands and DOT road-mile assessments to the county structure. Additional implementation steps, effective dates or administrative guidelines for billing were not specified during the hearing.