Funding public safety

COEUR d'ALENE - City staff in Coeur d'Alene are developing a proposal for a multi-million-dollar public safety replacement bond to present to the city council during the budget process later this year.

Council members expressed their support for pursuing the bond during a 2014-15 budget strategy session held last week.

Police, fire and finance officials are working on budgets to determine the amount of funding that is needed to replace several police and fire vehicles and to build a shared storage facility for the two departments.

While staff has yet to determine the amount of the proposed 2015 bond, Finance Director Troy Tymesen said it will be less than the 2005 public safety bond that is set to expire.

"We have been given the marching orders to come in under the amount of the last bond," Tymesen said. "The council doesn't want to increase the levy rates."

The general obligation bond would fund capital needs for the police and fire departments for the next 10 years. The measure would replace a $7 million public safety bond approved by voters in 2005.

Glenn Lauper, deputy fire chief, said they don't have hard numbers yet because the department didn't know until earlier this week if the city council would be interested in considering another bond.

"So it really hasn't gone under any scrutiny yet," Lauper said. "The police are putting together their numbers and we are putting together our numbers.

"Once we have our budgets, we will give those to Tymesen and he will run a pencil through it and then we will have a number to take to the council."

Until then, Lauper said it's hard to say what will be proposed, other than that it will be less than $7 million.

If approved, the city wants to use the bulk of the funding for fire and police vehicles, minimizing the financial impact on the city's general fund, Tymesen told the council earlier this week.

It would also fund construction of a joint-use storage building on city-owned property near the fire station at Ramsey Road and Kathleen Avenue, the city said in a press release.

Fire Chief Kenny Gabriel told the council at the strategic planning meeting that the bond would allow for the purchase of three fire engines and a ladder truck, as well as replacement of the rest of his department's aging fleet.

At the same meeting, interim Police Chief Ron Clark said his department plans to purchase patrol cars, freeing up funds to hire new officers.