Kootenai’s coffers flush

Growth is putting a lot of cash in the Kootenai County coffers.

The county estimates its 2007 budget will increase by several million dollars, perhaps totaling about $65 million. The swell is occurring even though county commissioners have pledged not to take the 3 percent property tax increase allowed each year by Idaho law.

About $1.3 million in new growth and an additional $1.2 million in state dollars will put enough money in the budget, which begins Oct. 1, to run current services and hire nearly 30 new full-time employees.

“Growth is helping us out at this point,” Finance Director David McDowell said, adding this is the first time in recent memory a county commission has opted not to take the 3 percent increase in property taxes, which would have added about $889,000 to the budget.

Last year commissioners took a 2 percent increase in property taxes, collecting a total of $24.7 million. In 2004, the county tapped an extra $870,000 in property taxes that it had opted not to collect in previous years. The commission that year said it needed the extra money to solve ongoing wage woes that caused the county to lose employees, specifically sheriff’s deputies and 911 center workers.

While preparing the 2007 budget, the commission said it eliminated any requests that would require the county to ask for more property tax dollars because it knows residents are concerned with increasing property taxes.

“We heard the taxpayers,” Katie Brodie said in a press release. “Our budget was driven by reaction to property taxes that each and every one of us is being faced with.”

Property values in Kootenai County increased an average of 40 percent. Many people with prized waterfront and view lots saw their property values double or even triple. The increases resulted in more than 1,000 appeals of assessments.

Yet increased property values don’t automatically translate to higher taxes for every property owner.

At the same time, tax bills won’t necessarily decrease just because the county plans to waive the 3 percent annual increase allowed by law.

The county’s tax rate is expected to decrease about 20 percent because the total assessed value of property in the county has increased by billions of dollars.

McDowell said each taxpayer’s situation is different, making it difficult to give a good example of how much property taxes are likely to increase for the owner of an average home. McDowell said it all depends on how much the home’s valuation increased in the last year.

In general, he predicts that anybody with a property value assessment that’s gone up more than the county average of 40 percent will likely pay more in property taxes in fiscal year 2007.

If a person’s property valuation didn’t change or went up less than the 40 percent county average, their property taxes could drop this year.

“Think of it as a teeter-totter,” McDowell said. “There’s so much volatility in our market, it’s hard to give a clear representation of what’s going to happen to them specifically.”

Total tax bills also will depend on other taxing district budgets such as schools, cities and fire districts. McDowell said the typical homeowner is included in seven to 11 taxing districts.

Budget numbers aren’t yet final, but McDowell estimates the budget will total somewhere in the mid-$60 million range. Last year’s budget totaled $72.5 million but included $12 million for a new garbage transfer station west of Post Falls.

Even with the windfall that comes from new construction in resort areas like Kootenai County, McDowell said there’s not enough money to make $5 million annual payments on a jail expansion. That’s why the county wants to fund the $55 million expansion with a local increase in the sales tax. Yet the commission hasn’t yet decided whether to put the jail proposal on the November ballot.

Time is running out for the commission to make a decision. Commissioners have until Aug. 1 to get the language on the ballot.

To help alleviate jail crowding in the meantime, the proposed budget would include enough cash to hire 15 new sheriff’s department employees. That includes five jailers to help with the increase in inmates, McDowell said.

The commission will have a public hearing on the proposed budget Sept. 5.

Budget reports are available on the county’s Web site at www.kcgov.us. Or call 446-1600 for more information.