Voters approve CdA public safety bond

In a low-profile election with small voter turnout, a $6 million property tax measure to buy new equipment for the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department and fund other public safety priorities cruised to passage tonight. A whopping 85 percent of the votes were in favor of the 10-year public safety bond, well above the two-thirds supermajority needed to pass. “I’m thrilled,” Fire Chief Kenny Gabriel said, adding that the margin of victory reflected hard work by members of the fire and police departments and strong backing from Mayor Steve Widmyer and the City Council. Also Tuesday, Coeur d’Alene School Trustee Terri Seymour lost in a close race with challenger Tambra Pickford in Zone 3. Pickford won by 29 votes, or 52 percent to 48 percent. “I’m excited,” she said. “I’m a little stunned. It was a close race.” Ten years ago Coeur d’Alene voters approved a $7 million public safety bond measure, which the city used to build its fire training facility, remodel fire stations 1 and 2, and build a fire headquarters. That tax expires this year. Property owners in the city will see their taxes go down slightly under the replacement tax. The cost is an estimated $23.45 per year on a median-priced home of $192,500, after the state homeowner’s exemption is applied. The city will buy a $1.4 million ladder truck and three fire engines costing almost $600,000 apiece. One of the fire trucks will go in a new fire station the city plans to build next year on the fast-growing west side. The other trucks will replace vehicles more than 15 years old. It will take up to a year to get the new vehicles delivered, Gabriel said. The fire department also will replace its fire boat, a brush truck, four command vehicles, two inspector vehicles, a battalion chief unit, two utility trucks, hoses and air tanks, for a total of $1.4 million. Also, the city will buy a $300,000 mobile command center for the police and fire departments to share, and will build a $560,000 storage building for fire equipment and the police department’s information technology division. Another $250,000 would be spent on carports for police patrol cars. The bond also would fund $315,000 in security camera equipment outside police and fire buildings and inside the parking garage at McEuen Park. Turnout was very low for Tuesday’s election. Only 2,666 voters cast ballots on the city bond measure. In March, more than 5,900 voters cast ballots on a Coeur d’Alene School District tax levy, and about 8,400 voted in the mayor’s race in November 2013.