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1. Why should people who don't have noxious weeds have to pay the assessment?

Weeds are everyone's problem. Even landowners who don't currently have weeds can be harmed by weeds that spread from adjacent lands. Seeds are carried by wind, water, vehicles, animals and people; the invasive nature of these plants means that no land is immune to their spread.

2. Why don't you just fine the people with weeds and use the money to pay for the program?

The state law which mandates that counties have to control weeds gives the counties only two options for funding the work. One is out of the general fund money, for which there is a lot of competition. The other is through an assessment, which is not a tax, but a regulatory fee for a service that is available to all landowners. It cannot be imposed selectively, and the county has limited authority to fine people who have weeds.

3. Do other counties fund their Weed Boards through an assessment?

At least twenty-one counties and five weed districts in Washington now have noxious weed assessments on their property tax bills. The fees range from $1.50 to $15.40 per parcel plus a fixed amount per acre of land. Clallam County, at $1.50 per parcel and 13 cents per acre (forested land is 1/10th the rate), has the lowest per parcel fee in the state.