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Irrigation budget considered

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Editor,

At the Flathead Irrigation District, March 11 meeting, a number of valuable precedents were set with respect to FID budgeting policies and practices.

Irrigators were provided at the start of the meeting with detailed information on the outcome of FID’s 2018 administrative budget, including income sources, expenditures and end of year cash balance.

Irrigators also were provided a detailed report on current fiscal year administrative budget income and expenditure and cash balance developments as of end February.

Commissioners also questioned a bill that was submitted by a service provider. That should happen more often. Commissioners should make available to the public the list of bills that they are being asked to pay and, if requested by an irrigator, an individual bill.

The most important outcome of the meeting: commissioners agreed to spend time on budget matters. For one thing, there is a need for commissioners to update the current year’s budget, which was hastily adopted last July.

FID commissioners also need to begin discussing next year’s administrative budget and also its operation and maintenance budget because they will need to decide next year’s administrative and O&M fees by early August. The current administrative fee is 50 cents per acre, and the current O&M fee is $29 per acre. Regarding the O&M fee, FID commissioners will need to decide whether to raise the O&M fee to $33.50 per acre as billed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Dick Erb
Moiese

 

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