Council Scraps Workshops On Budget For City $32.11 Million Plan Expected To Be Ok’d At Tuesday’s Meeting

A second budget workshop for Coeur d’Alene City Council members was canceled Thursday night for lack of a quorum.

Summer vacations also sidelined a similar session, scheduled for Tuesday.

So the City Council will embark upon next week’s public hearing on the 1998 budget with little analysis. But many of the normal workshop questions may be handled at the public hearing, city officials said.

The council is expected to approve the proposed $32.11 million budget Tuesday evening after taking public comment. City officials are encouraging residents to share their thoughts at the meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. at City Hall on Tuesday.

The council heads into the meeting with a $100,000 unknown on the table. The city has not settled a dispute with employee groups over raises and health insurance benefits.

City workers are being asked to pay $30 more a month to cover a $100,000 increase in health insurance premiums. A 3 percent salary increase is contingent upon the workers agreeing to that premium increase, under the terms of the city offer.

Separate fact-finding groups are studying the issue for the firefighters, police officers, and the Lake City Employees Association.

The council also is being asked to increase funding for the Kootenai County Humane Society by about $28,000. The city originally budgeted $46,800, based on estimates of the group’s needs in May.

The Humane Society, which contracts with the city for animal control, has since gotten a new board of directors and a new executive director. It wants an additional $13,200 for general operations and an additional $15,000 for a new truck, said John Austin, city finance director.

The city is proposing an increase in dog licensing fees to cover some of the need for additional money. If approved, the price of the annual license for a spayed or neutered dog would rise from $3 to $7. The tab for an unfixed dog would go from $7 to $15.

The City Council cannot increase the total budget or the property tax levee at Tuesday’s meeting. It can only be adjusted downward.

That means for the eight year, the owner of a $100,000 home will not pay any more in property taxes to the city.

, DataTimes