Cda, Post Falls To Spend More, Tax Less Increase In Cities’ Budgets To Be Less Than Income Generated From New Construction

The money collected by Kootenai County’s two largest cities will rise next year, but most taxpayers will hand over a little less.

Spending at the cities of Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls will rise in 1997 by less than the money generated by new construction, according to near-final versions of both cities’ budgets.

In most cases, the typical taxpayer will fork out $5 to $10 less per household.

“It’s kind of a just-go-forward budget,” said Brentt Ramharter, finance director for Post Falls. “There isn’t a dramatic change.”

At 7 p.m. Tuesday, both cities will host final budget hearings at their respective city halls.

In Post Falls, city council members also will debate whether to collect an additional $100,000 to $200,000. That money would be set aside for future construction of a new police station, city hall or library, said Administrator Jim Hammond.

With $200,000 factored in, that city’s proposed budget is $13.4 million dollars. Only $2.6 million is derived from property taxes - about $170,000 more than this year.

The remainder comes from user fees, collected from city water, sewer and garbage bills, or fees for building permits.

The increase includes 2.5 percent for merit salary increases - the city doesn’t have scheduled step increases - and an extra $200,000 more than last year to improve roads. The city also plans to add two positions, but one is partially paid for through federal grants.

About 20 percent of the city was reassessed by the county this year, and those homeowners’ property values rose. While it’s unclear how those residents’ tax bills will be affected, taxes for the majority of residents will drop.

“I think we’re basically just trying to cover our operating costs,” Ramharter said.

Coeur d’Alene’s $32.5 million budget actually dropped by about $1.5 million, but the amount that comes from property taxes - about $6 million - will increase by $122,000.

Administrator Ken Thompson said that money will go to departments experiencing a greater workload due to growth.

About $77,000 will go to hire two new police investigators and another $27,000 will go as a first payment for a new front-end loader for the street department. Another $17,000 will cover half the cost of hiring a new mechanic.

Those increases will be shouldered by income from new homes and businesses, Thompson said.

A final version of Kootenai County’s $33.8 million budget won’t be available until later this month.

County commissioners are still struggling to determine how to pay for a 4 percent increase in employee wages. Some workers, but not all, will see a pay increase.

About $15.7 million of the draft county budget comes from property taxes - an increase of about $500,000 from last year. The county plans to use all but about $4,500 of the money generated from new growth.

, DataTimes