By Russ Pankonin, The Imperial Republican Co-Publisher
     No one relishes the idea of paying more taxes. But in the case of LB 701, the taxes and fee included in the bill to address compact compli-ance issues in the Republican River basin may well make the difference between survival and disaster for both our farmers and communities.
     The bill gives the NRDs the authority to collect a $10 per-irrigated-acre fee in addition to additional levy authority of 10 cents per $100 of assessed value.
     With the levy authority, it allows the NRDs to spread some of the cost of the compliance effort to property taxpayers other than the farmers.
     While I don't irrigate, I benefit from the economic prosperity that irrigated farming creates for our businesses, our community, our schools, our hospital, etc. As a result, I am willing to shoulder some of that burden as well.
     The solutions put forth in LB 701 do not address all of the compact compliance issues but do take the first steps to putting southwest Nebraska and the state on the road to insuring our livelihoods and futures.