County set to vote on Wolf Creek resort area

The Lewis and Clark County Commission is poised to give Wolf Creek residents a means to reduce the cost they will pay to be connected to the towns new wastewater system.

The commission will vote during its 9 a.m. meeting today in the City-County Building to consider allowing the towns residents to vote on establishing a resort area and implementing the sales tax on luxury goods that being a resort area allows. The tax would help with the construction and maintenance of the wastewater system.

Wolf Creeks resort area district would be similar to the one established in Craig, said Mona Jamison, the Helena attorney who helped write the Montana law on creating resort districts and has been assisting Wolf Creek residents through the process.

Ballots will be mailed out to Wolf Creek residents on Aug. 26 and counted on Sept. 16, said Audrey Dufrechou, the countys election supervisor.

There are 41 people currently registered to vote in Wolf Creek, but only 39 of them are active voters and will receive ballots. The two people who have not voted in a while and are inactive will need to request ballots, Dufrechou said.

Registration to vote closes Aug. 18, but there will late registration. Those who want to register to vote will need to come to the countys election office, in the City-County Building, to register.

The ordinance is proposing a 3 percent sales tax the maximum allowed under the state law on luxuries and would be in effect from April 1 through Nov. 15.

The tax would have a duration of 20 years, but would not take effect until April 1, 2015, if approved by a majority of the towns voters.

Delaying the implementation of the tax until next year allows businesses to prepare for the collections, Jamison said.

Collections by individual businesses are confidential and not disclosed to the public, unless ordered by the county commission, which is the governing body for the resort area.

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County set to vote on Wolf Creek resort area