Spokane Conservation District asks commissioners to back $15 parcel fee and inflation clause

Lisa Carter, director of the Spokane Conservation District, presented the district’s rates and charges proposal at the Nov. 17 Spokane County strategic planning meeting, asking commissioners for a head‑nod to proceed to public hearings.

Carter outlined the district’s argument that a modest parcel increase — from $10 to $15 per parcel, plus per‑acre fees (10¢/acre for developed/ag land; 5¢/acre for forested/undeveloped land) — would provide stable match funding to multiply grants and projects. She said the district currently collects about $2 million annually in parcel fees and leverages that into roughly $16.9 million in program activity and grants, including a year‑round scale‑house market and workforce apprenticeships.

Carter also explained HB 1488, a recently passed Washington law that allows conservation districts to use an inflationary adjustment every three years (implemented through the Department of Revenue’s CPI method) and caps increases at $25 per parcel. The district proposed implementing the initial increase in 2027 and using the HB 1488 mechanism beginning in 2029 to avoid annual rate hearings.

Carter said the district will conduct public outreach — more than the statutorily required two hearings — and return to the board in August with final language for a resolution. Commissioners indicated general support for continuing the public process and requested the district and county attorney draft the formal resolution and public‑hearing schedule.

Next steps: the district will hold multiple public meetings across incorporated areas, track public feedback, and return to the board with a formal resolution and ordinance language in August 2026.