JohnA: Here’s the facts. City taxpayers pay $18 million in taxes that flow directly to the city. Those in the URDs, less than 10% of the city’s property owners, pay about $3 million a year (I’m sorry I said it was $2.5 million; a check of the county auditor’s financials corrected me). The $3 million in city taxes and another $2.7 million in other taxes (the county, NIC, etc) go to LCDC and have helped to fund the library, Kroc Center, Ed Corridor and now will fund the majority of McEuen Field. What’s also missing from Mary’s comments to Nic is the fact that once the Lake District ends in 2021 (and the McEuen Field upgrade is paid for) a lot more water will be added to the ‘tub’. In fact the tub will be overflowing. The city’s share as of today would be $2.1 million each year, the county $1.1 million and NIC $383.000. That’s a big bucket to be added to the tub. It is at that point that the city (and the county, NIC, etc) can make budget decisions on whether to add that money to their budget or to lower taxes for everyone. So, the bottom line is the city (and the rest of us) get to enjoy the McEuen Field upgrade now and local governments will get a huge windfall in about eight years, and all of it coming from less than 10% of the city’s taxpayers. Not a bad deal at all, but that’s the beauty of urban renewal in a nutshell.

Question: Why do you suppose the Souza-Orzell-Sims Recallers don't mention that Coeur d'Alene is in for a huge revenue windfall when the urban renewal districts sunset in eight years?