EPHRATA — Grant County commissioners on Monday approved an adjustment in the assessment for two small lighting districts near Moses Lake, raising the rates for a few county residents while lowering them for others.

According to County Treasurer Darryl Pheasant, the two small districts — Turnkey Lighting District, 22 parcels on the southwest side of Turnkey Road across from the Larson Community, and Hillcrest Lighting District, about 360 parcels just north of the Grant County Fairgrounds — were established years ago to provide and pay for street lighting in areas close to Moses Lake the city did not annex.

“The budget for the districts must be adequate,” Pheasant told the county commissioners.

He recommended the commissioners raise the assessment for the 22 property owners in Turnkey to $24 per year from $20 while at the same time lowering the lighting assessment for Hillcrest residents to $16 per year from $18 in 2017.

Pheasant explained that the failure of one or two households to pay their taxes on time, or at all, in the small Turnkey district will make it difficult for the county to pay its bills or provide maintenance.

There was, however, enough cash in the Hillcrest account to make it possible for commissioners to reduce the assessment.

“This is purely about cash flow and carryover,” Pheasant said.

Commissioners, while approving the change, also noted that recent industrial development on the eastern side of Turnkey Road was not a part of the district, and therefore was not paying for light on the road.

According the Pheasant, the assessment in both special districts pays for lights and light poles as well as the monthly electricity bills to the Grant County Public Utility District.

County commissioners and department heads on Monday also discussed Grant County’s upcoming 2017 budget, but delayed an approval vote for Tuesday pending final budget numbers from the auditor’s office.

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached via email at [email protected]