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City council to discuss budget changes

by JEFF SELLE/jselle@cdapress.com
| August 19, 2014 9:00 PM

COEUR d'ALENE - The city council will meet tonight to discuss amending its fiscal year 2013 budget ordinance to reflect $5.3 million in unanticipated costs.

In a memo to the council, Deputy Finance Director Vonnie Jensen explained the major unanticipated costs were due to project carry-overs from the previous year, paying retirees for their accumulated leave, and overtime for police and fire personnel.

State law allows cities to amend their budgets at any time throughout the fiscal year to reflect unanticipated costs, and the city of Coeur d'Alene typically waits until the end of the budget cycle to do it. Fiscal year 2013 ends on Oct. 1.

This year the budget will be amend by a total of $5,339,222.

According to the reports filed with the council, the largest overage was a $2.1 million wastewater project and next largest was in the engineering department, where a street overlay project was carried over from FY 2012, at a cost of $1.2 million.

The third-largest expense was $1 million overage on Front Avenue, followed by a $600,000 premium to insure the city through Idaho Counties Risk Management Program.

The fire department paid out $47,125 in separation payouts and police had $50,000 in special event overtime costs.

The city also paid out $150,000 in insurance settlements.

Jensen said the city is also expected to receive an additional $377,747 in revenue to help cover the increased expenses, and $1,667,475 of rainy day funds will be used to cover the cost of project carry-overs and the insurance premium.

The council will discuss how to cover the remaining unanticipated costs.

If the council agrees to the budget amendment tonight, a public hearing on the amendment will be set for Sept. 16 at 6 p.m. in the community room of the Coeur d'Alene Public Library.