Hissong seeks re-election to Post Falls Council

POST FALLS - Skip Hissong will seek re-election to Post Falls City Council Seat No. 5 on Nov. 8.

In addition to finishing his current term, Hissong, co-owner of Summit Equipment, a manufacturer of recycling equipment in Post Falls, served on the council from 1990 to 1993.

He will be challenged by Barry Rubin.

Hissong said he decided to run again because he wants to continue to give back to the community.

"I really enjoyed this tour - even more so than the first one," he said. "I'm really passionate about Post Falls. I've lived here 39 years, raised my kids here and have watched it grow from 2,300 to 27,000 people.

"I want to do what I can to help."

Hissong, 64, is a current member of American Legion Post 143 and the Post Falls Lions Club. He is a founding member of the Post Falls Community Volunteers and is a board member of the Post Falls Chamber of Commerce.

He served 14 years on the Post Falls Urban Renewal Commission.

Hissong advocated for expanding the city council from five positions to seven.

He voted against raising property taxes for two years before agreeing to a 2 percent hike this year.

"Generally, I'm not in favor of tax increases," he said. "However, I'm not a 'no' guy either."

Hissong said he favored the tax hike because he didn't believe there was anything left to cut and levels of service would have suffered without the income. He said the city had cut its budget by $2.5 million the previous two years and laid off employees when necessary.

"There becomes a point in time when it's either increase taxes or decrease services," Hissong said. "I believe $8 per year was worth keeping us from having a reduction in services."

The tax increase will cost an additional $8.05 per year for the owner of a $150,000 home.

Hissong said Post Falls' citizen survey indicated the people want to see the streets improved and keep the police department funded as it has been. Therefore, those departments should be budget priorities, he said.

Hissong said he'd push for new subdivisions to adopt the city's Smart Code, which encourages mixed-use village with pedestrian opportunities and is intended to avoid sprawl. He advocates for filling in pockets of the county within the city before approving more large subdivisions on the Rathdrum Prairie.

"I'm not in favor of going beyond our occupied boundaries and leaping over land," he said. "Let's keep things in a contiguous and uniform manner."

Hissong said he doesn't support parks user fees because a lot of the people who use the park are young families who are struggling financially and parks offer them free recreational opportunities.

"I'd rather see us all pay a little (with taxes) than targeting some of the individuals who are struggling worst in our community," he said.

Hissong said he supports looking at more ways of trimming the budget, including exploring outsourcing of some duties including parks maintenance and engineering.

"If somebody has a creative idea, I'm all for it," he said.

Hissong also supports closing urban renewal districts as soon as possible as that will help the city's budget situation.