A decision published last week by the Washington state Court of Appeals cleared up the legal confusion over special assessments for conservation districts.

As a result, it appears that Island County commissioners are moving ahead with a revised ordinance approving a special assessment to fund the Whidbey Island Conservation District and the Snohomish Conservation District, which serves Camano Island.

The commissioners will likely consider the simplified ordinance, without a per acre charge, at their regular meeting Nov. 23.

On Nov. 9, the Court of Appeals published an opinion in a case involving Mason County and the Mason Conservation District. In Superior Court, three landowners had successfully invalidated a special assessment for the conservation district, arguing that it was an illegal tax. But the Appeals Court reversed that ruling in favor of the county and conservation district. The judges found that the assessment was a regulatory fee, not an illegal tax.

In addition, the appeals court ruled that it was legal for the districts to impose a $0.00 per acre assessment in addition to a per parcel assessment.

Island County officials decided to follow Mason County’s lead; the draft ordinance sets the assessment at $5 per parcel and $0.00 per acre, dropping the 5 cents per acre proposal.

Budget Director Elaine Marlow explained that the change was a matter of dollars and cents.

“It would cost more than the revenue collected to assess the properties,” she said.

For the same reason, land zoned as rural forest won’t be assessed. The state law governing the special assessments has a complicated formula for rural forest land. Marlow said it would be too expensive to develop a computer program to assess those parcels.

The draft ordinance also addresses Island County Assessor Dave Mattens’ concerns about the assessment roll. With budget and personnel cuts, he said his staff doesn’t have time to prepare a list of the properties that will be assessed. The state law says that the conservation districts will provide the assessment roll.

In response, the proposed ordinance states that the conservation districts must furnish the roll to the assessor’s office no later than Nov. 30.

In addition, the commissioners will consider an interlocal agreement between the county and the conservation districts. The agreement would protect the county from financial liability in case the special assessment is invalidated.