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Commissioners want no tax break for land group
By JENNIFER BATES
The Klamath County Board of Commissioners is not convinced the purchase of a 2,785-acre ranch for conservation purposes will help save water or farmers. The commissioners said the deal shouldn't get a tax break.
American Land Conservancy officials have an option to buy the Barnes Ranch in the Wood River Valley near the Upper Klamath Basin.
The conservancy intends to sell the ranch to the federal government, to be managed in connection with the adjacent Agency Lake Ranch land owned by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
Under state law, land that goes out of agricultural use loses a tax benefit. The conservancy officials asked the county commissioners to waive the increased tax.
The commissioners asked for more research and didn't make a decision at a meeting Tuesday, but they left no doubt about their sentiment.
"The idea behind the tax penalty is to keep agriculture land, agriculture land," Commissioner John Elliott said.
ALC officials told the board the Barnes Ranch will provide 52,000-acre feet of water storage, the storage process could begin immediately, and farmers would benefit.
Rich McIntyre, Oregon director of American Land Conservancy, told the board his organization will pay a premium price of $3,200 per acre. The cost of water storage per acre-foot varied from $3.40 to $4.20.
He would not say how long he had the option to buy the land.
Klamath County Assessor Reg LeQuieu told the board that the taxes at stake amount to $283,122. That's the difference between the tax bill on the land if it were in the hands of ranchers and the tax bill on the land in the hands of developers or others not engaged in agriculture.
"The farmers pay a fraction of the taxes assessed for the market value of the property, as long as the use is agricultural." he said.
Once farmland is purchased by users outside of agriculture, two things happen, said LeQuieu.
A tax penalty goes into effect immediately, and if the land is owned by the federal government, a tax lien is attached to the land before the federal government buys the land.
LeQuieu said the federal government is not inclined to buy land with tax liens, leaving the conservancy with a tax bill to pay before the federal government will consider buying the land.
Several people spoke to council in support of the project including Anita Ward from the Upper Klamath Basin Working Group, known informally as the Hatfield working group, and local farmers Larry Jespersen and Red Fonder.
No one spoke to the board in opposition of the project.
However, when commissioners discussed the issue, they did not share the same optimism as the people who supported the Barnes Ranch project.
Commissioner Steve West said there were too many unanswered questions.
Commissioner Al Switzer said he wasn't opposed to water storage, but he had seen little evidence that shallow flooding actually worked for water storage.
He pointed to the Woods Ranch project as an example.
"Eight years ago, we were asked to back another project just like the Barnes project, the Wood River Ranch project. We were told 40,000 acre-feet of water would be saved there. We never saw it," Switzer said.
Elliott agreed with Switzer. He said he was very disappointed in the way the Wood River Ranch had been managed.
"I have a fundamental objection to federal ownership of land. I haven't seen any benefits of federal land ownership, he said. "To support the Barnes Ranch project, I would need guarantees from federal agencies on management."
Elliott also said he didn't think a four-foot-deep saucer is going to be a solution to the water shortage.
"The solution is cold deep storage," he said.
The commissioners directed county counsel Rod Davis to research tax law and submit a report in 10 days to give the board clear legal options concerning taxes.
The board plans to study the report and then meet with ALC officials again to conclude their findings.
Following the meeting, McIntyre said the impact of the commissioners' decision would increase farm family bankruptcy, and the added cost of taxes just represents an additional problem for conservation efforts.
LeQuieu said the only way McIntyre could get a tax waiver would be at the state legislative level.
In other matters the board of commissioners:
Annexed of the property described as the Pine Grove Water District.
Reappointed Robert Bastian to the Klamath Vector Control Board. His term will expire Jan. 1, 2007.
Proclaimed Feb. 28, 2003 as "Mary Baker Eddy Day".
• • •
The Klamath Board of Commissioners meets at 9 a.m. every Tuesday at 305 Main Street, Room 219. The meeting is broadcast live on cable channel 3 in Klamath Falls. The meeting is usually rebroadcast 7 p.m. the following day. However, because of technical difficulties, this week's meeting will not be rebroadcast. For more information call the commissioners' office at 885-5100.
American Land Conservancy officials have an option to buy the Barnes Ranch in the Wood River Valley near the Upper Klamath Basin.
The conservancy intends to sell the ranch to the federal government, to be managed in connection with the adjacent Agency Lake Ranch land owned by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
Under state law, land that goes out of agricultural use loses a tax benefit. The conservancy officials asked the county commissioners to waive the increased tax.
The commissioners asked for more research and didn't make a decision at a meeting Tuesday, but they left no doubt about their sentiment.
"The idea behind the tax penalty is to keep agriculture land, agriculture land," Commissioner John Elliott said.
ALC officials told the board the Barnes Ranch will provide 52,000-acre feet of water storage, the storage process could begin immediately, and farmers would benefit.
Rich McIntyre, Oregon director of American Land Conservancy, told the board his organization will pay a premium price of $3,200 per acre. The cost of water storage per acre-foot varied from $3.40 to $4.20.
He would not say how long he had the option to buy the land.
Klamath County Assessor Reg LeQuieu told the board that the taxes at stake amount to $283,122. That's the difference between the tax bill on the land if it were in the hands of ranchers and the tax bill on the land in the hands of developers or others not engaged in agriculture.
"The farmers pay a fraction of the taxes assessed for the market value of the property, as long as the use is agricultural." he said.
Once farmland is purchased by users outside of agriculture, two things happen, said LeQuieu.
A tax penalty goes into effect immediately, and if the land is owned by the federal government, a tax lien is attached to the land before the federal government buys the land.
LeQuieu said the federal government is not inclined to buy land with tax liens, leaving the conservancy with a tax bill to pay before the federal government will consider buying the land.
Several people spoke to council in support of the project including Anita Ward from the Upper Klamath Basin Working Group, known informally as the Hatfield working group, and local farmers Larry Jespersen and Red Fonder.
No one spoke to the board in opposition of the project.
However, when commissioners discussed the issue, they did not share the same optimism as the people who supported the Barnes Ranch project.
Commissioner Steve West said there were too many unanswered questions.
Commissioner Al Switzer said he wasn't opposed to water storage, but he had seen little evidence that shallow flooding actually worked for water storage.
He pointed to the Woods Ranch project as an example.
"Eight years ago, we were asked to back another project just like the Barnes project, the Wood River Ranch project. We were told 40,000 acre-feet of water would be saved there. We never saw it," Switzer said.
Elliott agreed with Switzer. He said he was very disappointed in the way the Wood River Ranch had been managed.
"I have a fundamental objection to federal ownership of land. I haven't seen any benefits of federal land ownership, he said. "To support the Barnes Ranch project, I would need guarantees from federal agencies on management."
Elliott also said he didn't think a four-foot-deep saucer is going to be a solution to the water shortage.
"The solution is cold deep storage," he said.
The commissioners directed county counsel Rod Davis to research tax law and submit a report in 10 days to give the board clear legal options concerning taxes.
The board plans to study the report and then meet with ALC officials again to conclude their findings.
Following the meeting, McIntyre said the impact of the commissioners' decision would increase farm family bankruptcy, and the added cost of taxes just represents an additional problem for conservation efforts.
LeQuieu said the only way McIntyre could get a tax waiver would be at the state legislative level.
In other matters the board of commissioners:
• • •
The Klamath Board of Commissioners meets at 9 a.m. every Tuesday at 305 Main Street, Room 219. The meeting is broadcast live on cable channel 3 in Klamath Falls. The meeting is usually rebroadcast 7 p.m. the following day. However, because of technical difficulties, this week's meeting will not be rebroadcast. For more information call the commissioners' office at 885-5100.
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