Hayden levy rates may rise

HAYDEN — Hayden’s voters will decide the fate of Hayden’s levy rate this fall.

At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Mayor Steve Griffitts and council members set forth a timeline for hiking the city’s $1.28 per $1,000 of assessed value levy rate to between $2.50-2.75 per $1,000. By state law, the issue will be put forth before city voters on Nov. 6.

Griffitts said the city had done two years of homework identifying costs and priorities. The money will go to pay for roads and police, he said.

Council president Roger Saterfiel favored moving forward with the levy override election.

“If we’re going to go for it, let’s go for it.” He added, “No one wants to see taxes rise,” but when people learned that the additional tax funds would be used for roads and law enforcement, they were more agreeable.

Council member Richard Panabaker agreed. The city’s back is against the wall, he said.

“We’ve survived as long as we have because of the people that we have working here that are careful with our money. It’s been that way for a number of years. We’ve been fortunate but we can’t stretch it anymore. We probably should’ve done it 15-20 years ago,” Panabaker said.

Hayden’s levy rate is low compared to its neighbors in Kootenai County. As of 2016, Coeur d’Alene’s rate per $1,000 assessed value was $5.90, just ahead of Rathdrum at $5.77 and Post Falls at $5.59.

Hayden relies on the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement, and currently pays for four officers. Hayden is growing fast, with 208 permits for new homes issued in 2017 and an estimated 393 new jobs created last year.

Council member Matt Roetter said he had campaigned on the premise that growth should pay for itself. However, he said, “I’m not sure it’s happening.”

“I don’t know what the answer is, where the line is between developers paying for it and citizens paying for it. Where I’m at is that the people should decide whether or not they want to impose a tax on themselves. That’s the fair, democratic way to decide,” Roetter said.

Council member Jeri DeLange said in her 17 years on the City Council she hasn’t seen the levy rate increase much. It was a dollar something when she began in 2002, and it’s only $1.28 today, she said. Previous councils nearly took the issue to the voters but backed off when the economy tanked, she said.

“It’s 2018. Because it’s so low and we have over 14,000 people in the city, it’s critical we do something, take it to the citizens, educate them, and let them vote on it. It’s something I feel we really need to do.”

City attorney Caitlin Kling told council members that they and city staff members are legally allowed to promote the levy override in their capacity as private citizens, but cannot use any public funds and resources to do so.

The city must submit its ballot language to the county by Sept. 7. Council members decided to hold at least two town hall meetings to discuss the levy override, one in August and another in September. The exact dates still need to be determined.

Griffitts said the best part of the process was that the people would make the final decision. “They’ll have the opportunity to vote their hearts and consciences,” he said.