Commissioners with Diking District 2 Saturday decided to hold off moving ahead with a controversial assessment for 2015.

This was a smart decision and a refreshing sight for a junior taxing district. Too often, elected officials who have labored long over an important proposal are loath to give up their cherished plans, even when confronted with an entire roomful of objectors. To see board members pocket their pride and commit to spending the next year working with the community to draft a better proposal was encouraging, indeed it was a vote of confidence all its own.

The proposed assessment was an interesting case in competing community interests and values. The district was created a century ago this year, and while it was established to address agricultural drainage concerns it’s clear today that many residents share different hopes and a new vision for the valley, one not based on farming.

One possible future is a reinvestment in the district and drainage infrastructure, as commissioners are proposing, and another is a focus on conservation and wildlife, as some environmentalists have suggested.

A combination of the two is likely the best course at this time. As alluring as a pre-Vancouver utopia might be to some, the fact is the district exists to address drainage issues, and one of its primary functions is to protect huge swaths of farmland owned by private citizens. Summarily dismissing their interests and rights for new and competing ones is as unfair to farmers as unequal assessment is to homeowners with little benefit.

The valley’s distant future may be one that’s district-free, but as farming remains a viable and community-valued industry, commissioners should continue to perform their primary function, and that’s addressing drainage issues.

That said, the board also has a responsibility to listen to all its constituents. The board seemed quite ready to discount the assessment concerns of conservation-minded citizens and plow ahead with the proposed levy. It was only when farmers complained about the details that they seemed to reconsider.

Diking districts are not state-endorsed tractor clubs — commissioners are empowered to address drainage issues on a community scale, not cater just to interests of farmers. The two may often go hand-in-hand, particularly in this case, but it’s incumbent that commissioners include everyone in the drafting process ahead.

Only through broad community support, one built on a foundation of communication and partnership, will a diking district proposal for 2016 hold water.