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Park County solid waste board denies property owner's abatement request
Summary
The Park County Solid Waste Board on May 21 denied an abatement request after staff said county policy does not abate assessments for properties that have city refuse service; the board accepted the public works recommendation and voted to deny the request.
The Park County Solid Waste Board voted May 21 to deny a landowner's request to abate county solid-waste assessments, accepting the public works director's recommendation.
A resident who said they pay for city garbage for two houses argued assessments had not been charged for years and asked why the county list of customers now included their property. The resident said, "So it's like $50 a month, which is $600 a year for our city garbage when we're on city water," and questioned being assessed by the county after a long lapse in taxation.
Public works director Matt Whitman told the board the department follows an existing county policy: if a property owner pays for separate refuse service, the county does not grant an abatement on county refuse assessments. "We do have a policy through the rest of the county that if you pay for your own refuse services ... you don't get an abatement on county assessments for refuse," Whitman said, explaining staff review tax records to ensure assessments are applied correctly.
Board members discussed annexation and precedent concerns. Several members said changing the policy to allow ad hoc abatements would create administrative difficulties and potential inequities for vacation properties and others who do not use county service. After discussion, the board's meeting facilitator moved to "accept the public works recommendation to deny the abatement request," a board member seconded, members voiced aye and the chair recorded the motion as carried.
The board asked staff to circulate an additional assessment notice that had arrived and to place related material on a future agenda for further review. The resident who requested the abatement was told to retain the city's orange tags and paperwork while staff follows up.
Next steps: staff will send the additional assessment information to board members and the item may appear on a subsequent agenda for further consideration.
