Ken Olsen

Barely a month after their benefits came under fire from a local business lobby, city public works employees voted to merge their independent union with a branch of the AFL-CIO. Members of the Lake City Employees Association voted Tuesday to join the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. Some 72 percent of the 92 employees voted to go with the more formal union.

Kelly McAnally shows her nebulizer, which delivers inhaled medications. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

The Kootenai County commissioners and Post Falls City Council adopted 1997 budgets this week that give small property-tax breaks to home and business owners. The annual reductions may not do much more than buy families supper at McDonald's or a handful of movie passes. And in Coeur d'Alene, where both the city and the county are easing the burden on taxpayers, the relief will be soaked up by a school district levy that pays for a new middle school, county officials say. The middle school construction project was approved by voters in May. Kootenai County commissioners on Thursday adopted a $33.8 million budget. About $15.6 million of the 1997 budget will come from property taxes, $380,091 more than this year. All of the increase was funded from property taxes from new homes and businesses. And the commissioners decided not to spend $109,713 of the tax revenue from new construction, meaning some taxpayers will get a small break. A rule of thumb for the size of the break is hard to establish, because some homes were reappraised and may have to pay slightly more. In general, the owner of a $100,000 home that gets a $40,000 homeowners exemption will save about $12, said Kootenai County Administrator Tom Taggart. Much of the new spending went to the criminal justice system, including more funding for the prosecutor's office, the public defender and the jail. There also was more than $600,000 allocated for county employee raises. The Post Falls Council approved a $13.5 million budget Tuesday night. It relies on $2.6 million from property taxes, a $171,281 increase from this year's budget. The additional money came from taxes on new construction, said Brentt Ramharter, Post Falls finance director. As a result of that, and the reappraisal of some Post Falls property, the overall levy rate is declining. That means "about 80 percent of the people will see a decline in their taxes," Ramharter said. The owner of a $100,000 home could see as much as a $35 break. The 1997 Post Falls spending plan includes $200,000 for a reserve fund for future construction of a police station, city hall or library. There also is $200,000 for street construction, $2.7 million to go toward a new waste water treatment plant and $500,000 to upgrade the drinking water system. Post Falls is hiring a new police officer, but half of the money will come from a grant. The city also is hiring a building code enforcer, whose position will be funded from building permit fees, Ramharter said.

Some might disregard it as the petty theft of panties. But a closer look reveals that a lot of lingerie has been turning up missing from Coeur d'Alene dresser drawers since March.

A property tax lawsuit worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to local taxpayers is being delayed until 1998 because of a legal logjam. The delay means the stakes in Crown Pacific's suit against Kootenai County over the value of its Coeur d'Alene sawmill are multiplying. And if Crown wins, almost everyone else who pays property taxes will lose.

The City Council passed the 1996-97 budget Tuesday evening with no changes and few comments from the public. The council voted unanimously to adopt the $32 million budget, which gives property taxpayers a 2.1 percent break in their property taxes. It will mean an average of about $6 less for the owner of a $110,000 home.

The biggest day of grass field burning so far this year was marked by large plumes of smoke Tuesday, such as this one rising from the Rathdrum Prairie. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

A Sikorsky CH-54 Sky Crane dumps a load of water on a smoldering hillside near Lakeview, Idaho. The 4-day-old fire has blackened 270 acres on the east side of Lake Pend Oreille. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

John and Kathy Pierce fear a rise in crime, noise and complaints about their horses when 19 homes are built just beyond their fence line. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

The pilot of the logging helicopter that crashed near Fourth of July Pass on Aug. 12 is paralyzed as a result of the accident, hospital officials said Tuesday. And more thorough maintenance likely could have prevented the crash, according to the company that licensed the Bell Model 205 helicopter.

J.K. Richardson put down $50 at the feed store in Lacie Hourlland's name and gave her a lead rope and halter. Lynn Humphreys is donating three tons of hay and George and Olga Brown have a truckload of feed they want to deliver.

U.S. Senate candidate Walt Minnick heads into the Broken Wheel restaurant in Kellogg on Monday to meet with voters. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

Twelve-year-old Lacie Hourlland tries to corral Rosie near her house on the Rathdrum Prairie. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

Tim Swanson, left, talks with employee Brenda Duke at T.J. Moss and Co. during a ribbon-cutting Fiday for businesses rebuilt after January fires. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

For the fourth straight year, Coeur d'Alene residents will get a small break in their city property taxes. The tax relief won't trigger any shopping sprees, however.

Crown Pacific claims its Huetter mill isn't worth what it once was. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

Virginia attorney Jerry Gray, with his wife, Denise, will represent his son who was arrested in a logging protest. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

The pilot of a logging helicopter that crashed near Fourth of July Pass remains in critical condition at Kootenai Medical Center. There is no other information available about Jay A. Worman, 41, of Olympia, who may have suffered spinal injuries after the Bell UH-1H helicopter he was piloting went down on the Alder Creek timber sale.

1. A little bit of elk heaven. Potlatch worker Billy Rose doesn't want his company to get its hands on prime elk habitat. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review 2. Not far from the Bond Creek Glades, part of a thick steel Potlatch gate post is riddled with bullet holes.

Next Tuesday, the wheels begin turning to make the Lake City the first in the state to implement impact fees under a law passed last winter. If approved, the fees will add between $1,106 and $1,222 to the cost of a new Coeur d'Alene home, depending upon location. The fees for homes north of Interstate 90 will be higher than homes south of the interstate.

Jim and Trina Heisel have "doctor's instructions to get out of here" to protect Alex, 4, who has cystic fibrosis. Older sister Brittani is 10. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

Local businesses should pay their employees more than the minimum instead of pushing for lower wages and benefits for city workers, a city union official said. It also may be time for city workers to reconsider doing business with members of Concerned Businesses of North Idaho, which lobbies for about 60 area merchants, mines and real estate and tourism firms.

It calls for spending $1.5 million less than last year and includes two fewer employees and a 4 percent raise for city employees. The proposed 1997 budget for the city of Coeur d'Alene will receive its first public airing today at the City Council meeting.

The market for finished lumber is so depressed, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman is giving timber companies an extra year to harvest timber purchased before January 1995. Those companies also are getting a 12-month break from making payments on the unharvested timber.