Darby outfitter, Scott Boulanger, recently made a comment indicating that he wants a bounty placed on predators within Ravalli County and who do you think he wants to finance his proposal? He expects the money to come from us, the taxpayers.
He justifies creating this bounty by referring to State Senate Statute 81-7-210 that states:
“Whenever the owners or agents of the owners of not less than 51% of the livestock of any county in this state present a petition to the Board of County Commissioners asking for a fee upon the livestock of the county for the purpose of paying bounties on predator animals killed in the county, the Board of County Commissioners shall impose
the fee on all livestock in the county. Essentially, this would come to the taxpayers as a mill levy to be enacted by higher taxes upon citizens within the county for each livestock they own, not just ranchers.” This would include (by livestock definition) chickens, horses, goats, sheep, lamas, ducks, etc.
At a time of a depressed economy, additional taxes levied on private citizens would be detrimental. As a ranch owner in the 3-Mile Area of Stevensville, I support two communities and school districts and have seen my taxes increase by 40% since
2000. Some of my neighbors are elderly and they rely on the sale of livestock for income to pay their taxes and for survival. An increase in taxes would cause them severe hardship. I also am acquainted with people in the 3-Mile Area that take in sickly, abandoned livestock, and they spend a lot of time and money rehabilitating the animals. They would not be able to afford this service to our community, if an additional livestock levy was imposed.
It is also my belief that we recently voted and passed a law that no new taxation could be levied on the citizens in Ravalli County without a vote of the people.
I do not believe that the citizens in Ravalli County want more taxation, nor can they afford it, so a petition to levy an additional tax on livestock should not be allowed.
Toni Stark
Stevensville