Hayden legal services handled by Boise firm

HAYDEN - The city of Hayden contracts for legal services with the law firm of Hawley Troxell, which is based in Boise.

John Cafferty from the firm's Coeur d'Alene office serves as city attorney. He was previously a Kootenai County civil deputy prosecutor.

For fiscal year 2015, Hayden has budgeted $75,000 from the city's general fund for general legal services, $51,000 from the sewer operations fund for legal services related to sewer services, and $52,000 for prosecuting attorney services, said City Administrator Stefan Chatwin.

The Kootenai County Prosecutor's Office provides prosecution services for Hayden.

For the 2014 fiscal year, the city spent $74,472 from the general fund for general legal services and $90,308 from the sewer operations fund for legal services related to sewer services. Additionally, $52,000 was spent on prosecution services.

The sewer legal fees are related to a lawsuit the North Idaho Building Contractors Association filed against the city regarding sewer capitalization fees.

So far in the current fiscal year, the city has spent $23,428 from the general fund for general legal services and $2,357 from the sewer operations fund for legal services related to sewer services.

The Building Contractors Association has claimed that capitalization fees are an illegal tax, Chatwin said.

"Most all cities in this area utilize capitalization fees for both sewer and water to pay for expansion of the systems needed as a result of new growth," he said.

Each new home built, or newly constructed business, is assessed a fee that goes directly to the needed expansion of the sewer system to replace capacity that is used up.

The city was successful in its legal defense at the 1st District Court level, but the association has appealed to the Idaho Supreme Court. The city is awaiting a decision.