No new taxes
COEUR d'ALENE - At the last minute, Kootenai County commissioners decided not to raise property taxes after all.
At the county's fiscal year 2016 budget hearing this week, the commissioners moved away from an increase they themselves had written into the county's proposed budget.
They did approve money for 3 percent wage increases for county employees on the general pay plan. That was the other major part of the proposed budget.
The overall budget of $80.9 million didn't change from the published amount leading to the hearing.
The commissioners pulled money from the county's fund balance to offset the loss of revenue the tax increase would have generated.
Commissioner Dan Green favored maintaining the tax increase and not dipping into the fund balance to pay for an ongoing expense like pay increases.
"I voted 'no' because this shifted more of the responsibility to fund compensation increases using our existing fund balances," Green said. "I believe fund balances should be for 'one-time' expenses such as capital expenses."
The county funded approximately $1 million of employee compensation increases with fund balance dollars, Green said. Aside from compensation, county spending was relatively flat.
"The compensation dollars are now recurring in perpetuity, so after just five years we will have reduced our existing fund balance by $5 million," Green said. "It's fair to say, though, that other money may become available to rebuild the fund balance - but there is no guarantee."
Commission Chairman David Stewart said he supported dropping the tax increase because the county has a "healthy" fund balance.
"After going through the budget process and having all the information in front of me, the decision was easy to make," Stewart said. "I didn't feel raising property taxes was the right thing to do while having such a large amount of taxpayer dollars in the bank."
Commissioner Marc Eberlein said the fund balance is more than $20 million.
"I don't see where we need any tax increase," Eberlein said.