Funding and Support for the SCCD

SCCD Revenues

The Spokane County Conservation District is funded through several sources. Each conservation district in the state receives some basic operating funds from the Washington State Conservation Commission. The SCCD also receives a land-based assessment on all property within Spokane County (except for the City of Deer Park), which provides a substantial portion of the budget. Technical assistance agreements (CRP and TSP) with the federal Natural Resouce Conservation Service provide a portion of revenues. Although the District is a legal subdivision of the state government, it is not a state agency and does not receive an ongoing operating budget from the state's General Fund, as most state agencies do. The remainder of the revenue comes from grants, state revolving funds and other revenue sources.  These other revenues are used to leverage the local assessment revenues, bringing in approximately $8 for every $1 in assessment fees collected.

The following chart is from 2005, but provides a fairly accurate representation of District funding from year to year.

SCCD Expenses

The majority of expenses pay the salaries and benefits of the personnel who provide the services to the community, with a some employee salaries being covered by grant funds. The next largest category of expenses is the loan repayment to the Department of Ecology on the State Revolving Funds. These funds are used to provide low-interest loans to agricultural producers to purchase conservation tillage equipment.

The following chart is from 2005, but provides a fairly accurate representation of District funding from year to year.

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