Water district issue resolved

Alexis Barker
NLJ Reporter
 
The West End Water District has taken the actions needed to again comply with state requirements, according to Weston County Attorney Alex Berger. As a result, the county commissioners will no longer need to move forward with dissolution of the district, Berger said. 
Berger gave the commissioners the good news on Feb. 5 that, in his opinion, the water district has now complied with annual reporting requirements. The district serves approximately 100 customers, using a well that was drilled in 1984 at a cost of about $500,000. 
“Last month this commission passed a resolution to start the process to dissolve the district because of failure to comply with reporting requirements to the clerk for audit,” Berger said. “It was my opinion that the commissioners’ hands were tied in the matter and, upon this notice, the commission had to seek dissolution.” 
“I understand that since then the district has come into compliance in regards to the annual reporting requirement,” Berger said. “It is my recommendation that we pass a resolution rescinding the prior resolution. This would put the district back to where they were.” 
Berger said that he thinks these actions would accomplish what the auditor and the statutes wanted. 
“It doesn’t dissolve the district now that it is in compliance. We may run
into issues later, but right now this is the best thing the commission could do,” Berger said. 
Commissioner Nathan Todd asked Berger whether he believed the purpose of the statutes was to “put the teeth out there to bite them” and get the district to be compliant. 
“I don’t think that is what it is for. The commission and district are lucky that the statute says to ‘seek to dissolve’ and not ‘will dissolve,’” Berger said. “The publication in the paper is the final warning, and it is at the grace of the Legislature that we have the ability to walk this back. … The West End Water District is lucky we are able to do this.” 
Commissioner Tracy Hunt said that he thinks it “sounds like a whole statutory scheme.”
“It is a well-crafted statute that gives the Commission the discretion to seek to dissolve and then do so if they want,” Hunt said. “It sounds like it is working just like it should. I am glad you (the district) are back in compliance, and it doesn’t make sense to go forward with the dissolution.” 
Hunt said that he hopes other local districts will recognize the inconvenience to the Commission and will now know the “hoops to jump through” and get the reporting done. Todd said that he hopes that the districts are now aware of the requirements and that noncompliance not be an issue in the future. 
The commissioners approved a resolution to rescind their previous motion to dissolve the water district.