CdA budget: Is tax increase looming?

The city of Post Falls didn’t increase taxes.

Allowed to propose up to a 3 percent bump from the year before, the city is opting not for the next fiscal year’s budget.

The city of Coeur d’Alene is finishing up crafting its first draft for the 2011 budget. Last Year, the Lake City, just as Post Falls had, declined to ask for any of the 3 percent increase after citizens expressed concerns about even the slightest bump in taxes.

This year, it’s still up in the air as the Coeur d’Alene financial team is crunching the numbers.

Asking for the bump in property taxes doesn’t necessarily mean property taxes will go up. Other factors like levy rates and home owners’ exemptions factor in significantly.

But times are tight everywhere — for cities too — and less money could eventually mean fewer services.

Keep an eye out this summer for the city’s budget workshop and public hearing on the budget if you’d like to weigh in.