No green light for utility fee
<p>A vehicle drives under street lamps on Second Street in Coeur d’Alene on Friday night. The city is looking into the legalities of collecting a street light utility fee.</p>
COEUR d'ALENE - The city of Coeur d'Alene is looking into whether it should be collecting a street light utility fee.
The City Council directed city staff members to find out whether the fee is legal. The city could collect money for the service through property taxes.
Members of the council also want to know what other cities have done when the fee was questioned.
"I would like to see it examined," Councilman Dan Gookin told the Press in an interview Thursday.
He said a fee should be charged only for specific services. Taxes, on the other hand, are more appropriate for services that benefit the public at large.
Right now, residents who have a street light utility fee on their bills pay $2.58 a month, said city spokesman Keith Erickson.
Councilman Steve Adams said he would like to see the fee go away.
"I probably would lean toward the belief that it's not legal," Adams said Friday.
"At this point, our analysis is it's legal for us to collect that as a fee for a service that's being provided to citizens here," City Attorney Mike Gridley told the council Tuesday.
If it was collected as a tax it would create a burden on property owners, while letting renters off for free, Gridley said.
Gookin said the fee leaves the door open for lawsuits against the city.
"I don't want to be sued," Gookin said in the interview. "There are definitely people out there who would do it."
Gookin said he also is concerned the fee doesn't generate enough money to meet the costs of providing street lights in the city.
The city transfers money from the general fund to cover the shortage.
Losing revenue entirely from the fee would hurt the city, Gookin said.
"It would be a big hit," Gookin said.
The city anticipates income in the street light budget of $584,000. The city would have to raise property taxes or cut expenses if that money wasn't being collected through the fee.
Starting Oct. 1, the city of Sandpoint will no longer collect a street light utility fee.
The city will begin paying for the service through money in the general fund, which comes from property tax revenue.
"Our attorney looked at it and couldn't justify a fee," said Sandpoint Public Works Director Kody Van Dyk.
Sandpoint City Attorney Scot Campbell didn't return a call seeking comment.
The issue was raised in Post Falls, too.
Post Falls opted to continue collecting a street light utility fee, while acknowledging the law is unclear. Post Falls officials decided to wait for a possible legislative fix so all cities can get on the same page.