Taxpayer group backs levee assessment
The Mid-Valley's best-known anti-tax group is putting its weight behind one assessment — the plan to raise funds to upgrade Feather River levees.
A plan to fortify 44 miles of flood walls in Sutter and Butte counties won the endorsement of the Sutter County Taxpayers Association, which officially backed the plan today.
Ballots were mailed to property owners in the two counties, who have 45 days to decide whether to pay $72.5 million of the project cost. State bonds would cover the rest of the estimated $250 million price tag.
"We urge the citizens of Sutter County to vote for the assessment," SCTA President Pat Miller said in a statement. "It is our best opportunity — and possibly our only opportunity for many years to come — to repair our levee system."
Upgrading levees on the Feather's west bank is meant to keep the two counties out of federal flood-hazard zones, which would boost the cost of flood insurance and require it for any homes with federal mortgages. Increased protection also would help the area avoid possible state curbs on building permits from 2015 onward.
Construction is scheduled to run from 2012 to 2014.
