The state Legislature’s failure to pass a capital budget has led to cuts in staff hours at the Jefferson County Conservation District (JCCD).

“We’ve got quite a few different funding sources,” said Al Cairns, district manager for the JCCD.

As of Sept. 10, the district is be open to the public Monday through Wednesday only, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Some of the the district’s funding comes from Jefferson County, as the district conducts groundwater monitoring on a closed landfill, Cairns said. He said JCCD had three personal services agreement with the county for various water-quality programs.

Cairns said that when it comes to agriculture, “almost all of that work is done through state funds. That’s on the capital side of the budget … it’s better than half of our funding.”

The conservation district provides landowners with technical and financial assistance that allows them to make improvements to their property and farm operations that protect salmon-bearing streams. This, in turn, improves water quality and the health of salmon runs and shellfish beds, Cairns said.

The JCCD does this with a small staff and equally small budget, turning grants and state funds into tangible local results that benefit the community and which demonstrate that farming and fishing can work together, according to a press statement from district.

“The conservation district is struggling to deliver services to Jefferson County property owners because the Washington State Legislature has failed to pass a capital budget,” stated a JCCD press release.

“This has left the conservation district with a large gap in funding with no immediate means of securing other funds to continue its programs.”

Cairns said nine promising projects are now delayed indefinitely.

Cairns was not at his office when The Leader contacted him and thus was not able to provide exact dollar amounts.

PROJECTS STALLED

The district’s work has focused on working with farmers to create riparian buffers along streams on their property to improve water quality and salmon habitat. Cairns said the state has purchased or leased those buffer lands over time, but due to the capital budget delay, that work is now stalled.

Cairns said that the JCCD had a policy of keeping two months worth of operating funds in its reserve fund, and that it would spend its reserves down to that two-month limit by April 1 if the state’s capital budget is not fixed.

The JCCD has five part-time employees, Cairns said.

“It’s a really lean program, with an exceptionally small crew and an equally small budget … there are no frills about the conservation district,” he said.

Glen Huntingford, chair of the JCCD board of supervisors, expressed his displeasure in the press statement.

“Regrettably, given that there has been no sign from the state Legislature that they are working on a fix to this impasse, the Conservation District has to make some tough decisions about how to preserve some of our programs and retain staff,” Huntingford said. “Simply put, this means a reduction of staff hours and a lower level of service to our customers. If the Legislature does not pass a full budget by April of next year, they will place the very existence of our Conservation District at risk since we will have spent nearly all our reserves just keeping the lights on,” he said.