ANNUAL BUDGET INFORMATION - 1990 to present: (only approved budgets)

Year	Budget	Land Charge1	Water Assessment1
1990	$213,560.00	$.05	$.0982
1991	$212,416.00	$.05	$.0965
1992	$224,335.00	$.05	$.1105
1993	$224,335.00	$.05	$.109
1994	$212,220.00	$.045	$.082
1995	$328,031.00	$.045	$.08
1996	$337,434.00	$.05	$.0875
1997	$460,210.002	$.05	$.376
1998	$410,010.002	$.05	$.3212
1999	$416,055.002	$.05	$.3268
2000	$415,755.002	$.05	$.3268
2001	$453,675.002	$.05	$.37
2002	$471,540.00	$.05	$.057
2003	$383,271.00	$.05	$.17
2004	$406,340.003	$.05	$.315
2005	$419,365.003	$.05	$.33
2006	$434,250.003	$.05	$.3466
2007	$411,952.953	$.05	$.32
2008	$438,965.003	$.05	$.353

Footnotes:
¹: These figures are in Dollars. For example, $.05 equals 5 cents per acre of land and $.353 equals 35.3 cents per acrefoot of water.

²: These budgets include an additional $181,000.00 for operation of the weather modification program.

³: This budget includes an additional $.09 on the water user charge for contribution to the NW Kansas Groundwater Conservation Foundation if needed to match other grants.

NEXT YEARS BUDGET:

The proposed 2009 operating budget will be provided to the board for first look in January, 2008. A board approved, proposed 2009 budget, will then be submitted to the district membership during the annual meeting on February 20, 2008. The membership will consider the 2009 budget and approve a budget for public hearing later in the year. It will be finally considered at a public hearing called by the board sometime between March and August, 2008. Each years budget gets looked at 4 times before becoming final.

FINANCING INFORMATION:

In order to obtain whatever budget is approved, the district applies both a land charge and a water user assessment to the tax statements of its eligible voters. KSA 82a-1030 is the statutory cite for this funding authority. The land assessment is limited to a maximum of $.05 (5 cents) per acre of land. The water user charge is limited to a maximum of $1.00 per acrefoot of water right held. The water user charge is assessed against the full amount of the water right unless a verified claim of less use is filed with the district by April 1 of the appropriate tax year. In this case, the established water user charge is assessed against the lesser amount actually used. In GMD 4, a meter reading is required to claim less water use than the authorized amount. The board may assess any water right a greater water user assessment than $1.00 per acrefoot, but not to exceed $1.50 per acrefoot, only if 50% or more of its authorized place of use lies outside the district boundary.

The budgets listed above generally represent the amount of money that district assessments have been established to bring in. This statement does not apply to the 2002 and 2003 operating budgets which are unique due to the process of returning the previously collected weather modification program funds to the water users. Each budget when approved has been higher than these figures by an amount equal to other, non-assessment income sources such as grants, interest income, contract income, etc. Because other income sources vary greatly from year to year, we use the local assessment income as the expression of our local budget which is most relevant from year to year.

REVISED BUDGET HEARINGS:

Every January, the board conducts a revised budget hearing in order to re-budget the previous year's carryover funds into the already approved current year's budget. This gives everyone one final look at the current year's budget. These hearings are publicly noticed per statute.