Letters To The Editor

Increased sales tax best way to fund expansion

After studying the issue, I am convinced that the best way to fund the remodel and expansion of the Kootenai County jail is to adopt the proposed half-penny increase in the sales tax. Here are my reasons.

First, jail expansion is necessary to continue to provide adequate protection to the citizens of Kootenai County. We don’t want our jail to have a revolving door that allows a person who should be incarcerated to go free because the jail is too full.

Second, the sales tax is the best way to fund the expansion project because it not only provides the money for construction, but it also mandates that a minimum of 50 percent of the funds collected be applied to property tax relief.

Vote “Jail Yes” on May 23 to authorize expansion of the jail by authorizing adoption of the half-penny sales tax increase. Bea Almgren Coeur d’Alene

Exercise your right to vote on May 23

We need a larger jail. The county is charged with the duty to house people who are arrested. We cannot put people in tents, etc.; the cost of lawsuits would be more than the cost of a jail. The fact is the jail will be enlarged. The question is only how will we pay for it? Property tax or one-half cent sales tax?

You as a voter have a choice to make; to do that you must vote on May 23. If you decide the half-cent increase in sales tax would be the best method, your property taxes will be less. When the five years is past and the jail is paid for, the law requires the half-cent sales tax to end. While the half-cent sales tax is collected, one-half of the amount will reduce property tax.

If you make the choice of increased property tax understand that the increased budget may never go down again. Regardless of where a vehicle is purchased the sales tax is paid in the county in which the vehicle is registered. If you go to Spokane or Montana, to buy a car, when you register here in Kootenai County you pay Idaho sales tax.

The committee of 30-plus members studied the jail facility, the needs and how to solve the problems in depth. They they studied the various methods to pay for an expansion. Top financial advisors (not county officials) decided the best method is the half-cent sales tax. Whatever you decide, please exercise your right to vote on May 23. Jeannine L. Ashcraft Coeur d’Alene

City needs to tighten belt, stick to its budget

When I was a much younger man, I talked my wife into saying OK when I wanted to buy a nice new 1961 Buick convertible. Of course the 1957 Chevrolet we had ran just fine, but it was old. When the payments came along, and the money didn’t stretch far enough, I had to come up with a way to get more money. Fortunately a neighbor had a roofing company and he needed help on the weekends. Saturday and Sunday were the only days I had to spend with my three children, but they needed a roof over their heads and food to eat. I had to sacrifice my time with them to pay for a car that I really didn’t need.

That taught me a lesson I have never forgotten. Your budget starts with your actual income and you spend only what you have and not what you would like to have.

The city of Coeur d’Alene is in what is politely called “an expected shortfall of $800,000” in next year’s budget. Sounds like they didn’t need the convertible either.

Steve Judy, tighten up your belt and sharpen your pencil. Trim that budget and make do with what you have. Your solution of raising taxes takes money from those of us who have to live on a “fixed income” and have learned to strictly adhere to our budgets. Donald R Geske Coeur d’Alene

Make changes that bring folks downtown

Coeur d’Alene’s entrance corridor down Northwest Boulevard and the McEuen Field area definitely need some major updates, and the downtown area needs some help in order to become a viable marketplace.

In looking at the Walker-Macy plan, the Northwest Boulevard portion makes sense up to and including the Independence Point location for the Carrousel. The only objection I have is the elimination of the parking facility at Independence Point.

The McEuen Field area is another issue altogether. The proposal to eventually close the boat launch makes no sense. There is no other area on the lake in which to launch large vessels. The Walker-Macy claim that they left out the children’s play area by accident doesn’t cut it. If the end goal is to revitalize downtown, the moving of the parking lot between Third and Fourth by shoving it down one block can’t possibly help downtown merchants. The removal of four tennis courts is unacceptable.

But in the end, if the city wants to revitalize downtown, it’s going to have to recognize some basic tenets:

As long as the downtown area consists of antique and semi-specialty shops, the local folks aren’t going to go there on a regular basis.

As long as the downtown merchants insist on closing at 5 or 6 p.m., they’re doomed to failure.

Take a lesson from other cities that have successfully brought back dead downtown areas and subsidize new upscale shops and resturants that people want to go to until they’re on their feet. Make an effort to gentrify the area with the things that bring people to town. Mike Pierce Coeur d’Alene

City needs to be run same way as business

Re: “Mayor Judy states positions,” (May 3). Mayor Judy states as fact “Since 1990 the city of Coeur d’Alene has grown by 36 percent in population and 30 percent in road miles - both requiring us to provide basic public safety and maintenance needs to meet those demands.”

I don’t dispute those needs. I do question, however, the need to increase taxes each year incrementally to cover costs associated with that growth. The taxes from the growth itself should more than be paying for that. The tax increases resulting from periodic reevaluation of property values within the city should come close to covering inflation, merit increases, etc.

The city of Coeur d’Alene’s net assessed tax valuation (after homeowner’s exemption, Urban Renewal District growth, etc.) increased from $657,935,209 in 1990 to $1,441,133,336 in 1999. This represents an increase of $783,198,127, or 119.04 percent.

Real property tax revenues (exclusive of occupancy fees on new construction) were $4,840,204 in 1990 and $7,807,741 in 1999. This is an increase of $2,967,537 or 61.31 percent during the same 10-year time-frame.

The above amount does not include revenue from construction impact fees, utility taxes (the highest in North Idaho), grants, federal/state tax allocations or the transferred city taxes on $10,347,285 in assessed valuation growth that has occurred in the Urban Renewal District (URD) since 1997.

Although I disagree with automatic wage increases, favoring instead merit increases, why doesn’t the 61 percent increase in actual tax revenue cover the costs associated with a 36 percent population growth?

I am amazed that our mayor, who five years ago advocated fiscal responsibility as an employee of the Concerned Businesses of North Idaho, is now having great difficulty guiding the city to live within its means. Perhaps we need an experienced city administrator with the political freedom to run the city more as a business should be run. Jon Rolfe Coeur d’Alene