ST. GEORGE — Members of the Veyo Culinary Water Association say they don't benefit from water projects under the umbrella of the Washington County Water Conservancy District, and they want to be dropped from the district's tax rolls.

"We are requesting that future property tax bills for all members of our association be exempted from having to pay that portion of the property tax," Keith Jones, president of the Veyo water association, wrote in a Nov. 14 letter to the Washington County Commission. "We receive no benefit from this tax, nor do we wish to receive a benefit from the district."

The Veyo Culinary Water Association provides water for about 500 people, using water pulled from wells and a spring in its service area. Veyo residents shouldn't have to pay taxes for something they don't use or benefit from, Jones said.

But Jones is going to have a tough time convincing the Washington County Commission or water district that his complaint is valid.

"We got that letter out of the blue," said Commissioner Alan Gardner. "I just don't see how they can say there's absolutely no benefit."

Gardner said the county has no authority to change the way Veyo is taxed by the water conservancy district, anyway. The commission as a whole sent a letter back to Jones, noting the authorization to tax comes from the legislative process.

"It is our understanding that the Legislature has made the conservancy district tax applicable in the entire service area of the district, the entire county," the commissioner's letter states. "Because the benefits of water development are widespread and accrue over time to the entire area."

That's an argument that riles Jones.

"We take exception to your notion that we somehow benefit from the existence of the district when we come to St. George," Jones writes in a Jan. 27 letter to the county commission. "When we do business in St. George, we pay for products, and the cost of the water purchased by that business is incorporated into what we pay."

Ron Thompson, the district's manager, said the idea of opting out of a tax is "not a new argument."

"There is no way we can isolate any part of the county, and we wouldn't want to," Thompson said, adding the district's taxing rate is set at half of its legal limit. "We apply the tax to everybody. I don't think we could legally do that, either."

A home appraised at $300,000 in 2007 would have paid a property tax of around $112 to the water conservancy district.

Jones said he is seeking support from other small water user groups in the county and hopes to build a movement. A letter similar to the one he sent the county commissioners is being drafted and soon will be mailed to about 12 other water companies in the area, he said.

"I think when word gets out of what we're trying to do, there will be others who feel the same way," Jones said. "We're going to ask them to join in our protest."

Thompson said while Veyo residents may think they aren't getting any benefit from the district's many projects, the opposite is true.

"Frankly, we all benefit," he said, adding the district has developed several reservoirs for recreation and storage purposes.

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E-mail: nperkins@desnews.com