County waits for answers on PDR

April 3 referendum will decide land program’s fate

March 26, 2007

By DAVE RANK - Daily News Staff

County officials are as anxious as anyone for April 3 to be over.

"Come 8 o’clock that night we’ll know how the (referendum) vote comes out," said County Board Chairman Thomas Sackett, talking about the binding referendum question on the spring general election ballot that will decide if Washington County will start its own purchase of development rights (PDR) rural land preservation program.

"It’s a bit of a struggle to go through this," he said. "It’s a contentious thing, to a degree. Either way it goes, I did what I thought was right."

Sackett, a County Board supervisor from Hartford is finishing the first year of his first two-year term as board chairman, and he more than anyone is the man responsible for the first binding referendum vote ever conducted by the county.

A PDR is a voluntary program in which easements are bought from rural property owners to prevent future residential or commercial development.

PDR programs have been in use since 1974, now in 27 states. The concept has gotten a toehold in Wisconsin to encourage investment in the agricultural industry, minimize land use conflicts and preserve open space and water recharge areas, advocates said.

As proposed, the county would provide $800,000 in seed money that would be used to leverage additional funding from state and federal programs for the easement purchases. Private donations also would be encouraged.

If approved by the voters, the county-run PDR program would start in 2008 with an initial lifespan of 10 years.

The PDR debate has been long and stormy since it was first proposed in 2005.

Following a task force report in February 2006 recommending creation of a PDR program, in March of that year, the County Board voted 17-11 approving a resolution requiring an ordinance to create what would be the first county-run PDR program in Wisconsin, funding it with at least $800,000 annually from the county’s sales tax revenue. In 2006, the county sales tax topped $8.7 million.

But in April things changed. Following the spring election, nine new supervisors joined the board, and shortly after, Sackett was elected the new chairman.

Sackett called for a second debate on the program, saying there remained unanswered questions and the new supervisors deserved a chance to express an opinion on the issue.

In June, the board withdrew its support for a PDR program on a 15-14 vote.

Since then PDR advocates continued to lobby for the program until this past January the County Board voted 16-13 to authorize creation of a PDR program if approved by public referendum.

County money would not be spent in the program unless matching funds are obtained either through one of several federal or state land conservation programs or private donations, explained Daniel Stoffel, County Board first vice chairman, a county supervisor from the town of Kewaskum and a leader of the pro-PDR effort.

It’s now down to a waiting game, to see which way the public will decide.

"PDR has been a rocky road," Sackett said. "But once this is all done, it will be better for the county to have had this debate."

This week, county administration sent out a packet of background information on the PDR referendum, which goes under the name Land Preservation Pro-gram, to all 30 County Board supervisors and to all town, village and city governments.

"We’re trying to stay as neutral as possible on this thing," Sackett said. "We’re trying to provide information on the (two) resolutions (that established the binding referendum) and PDR.

"It’s a short guide on the thing. It’s our effort to help people understand where we’re at."

 

The explainer

This is how the Creation of a Land Preservation Program referendum question will read on the April 3 ballot:

"Shall the Washington County Board of Supervisors allocate at least $800,000 per year for 10 years funded by either sales tax, long-term debt obligations and property tax, or a combination thereof, to preserve prime farmland, water resources and natural areas in the County through purchase of development rights, land acquisition or similar programs from willing sellers, on the condition that all County expenditures are at least equally matched by non-county funding sources?"

Question explanation:

The referendum ballot is asking voters to vote yes or no on the question whether or not the county should start its own purchase of development rights rural land preservation program.

"A ‘yes’ vote on the question means you support the allocation of at least $800,000 per year for 10 years funded by sales tax, long-term debt obligations and property tax, or a combination thereof, to a county land preservation program on the condition that all County expenditures are at least equally matched by non-county funding sources and therefore approve the County Board’s adoption of 2006 Resolution 44."

[2006 Resolution 44 authorizes creation of a County PDR program if the concept is approved by the voters in the April 3 referendum.]

"A "no’ vote on the question means that you oppose the allocation of at least $800,000 per year for 10 years funded by sales tax, long-term debt obligations and property tax, or a combination thereof, to a county land preservation program. ..."

Source: Washington County Administration Department