Hayden amends, approves lower levy request amount

A proposed levy seeking additional funding for law enforcement in Hayden will be on the ballot Nov. 8, but it will be for a lower amount than originally approved by the City Council in August.

During a special Tuesday evening council meeting, council members passed a motion to amend the levy amount from $597,843 to $543,843, a difference of $54,000.

Council members Roger Saterfiel and Ed DePriest voted in favor of the change. Council President Matt Roetter voted against it. Sandra White was absent.

The new levy amount was determined after City Administrator Brett Boyer negotiated with Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris on funding needs. The agreed upon amount removed seasonal overtime and 911 pay, but will still allow for six new deputies to cover Hayden.

"Those proposed changes would result in a reduction of $29K and $25K, respectively, which is currently being paid for," Boyer stated in a memo to the mayor and city council.

The amended levy will add an estimated $16.21 per $100,000 of taxable assessed property value to property owners’ tax bills.

“I do not support increasing property taxes to pay for growth,” Roetter said, during the meeting. ”I do support paying for growth with impact fees. Impact fees are charged to builders and developers to pay for the impacts of growth. Hayden citizens should not be burdened with the cost of growth."

The attorneys from Lake City Law Group who represent the city said impact fees cannot be used for salaries, which is what the levy funds will be used for.

Saterfiel said he agrees with Roetter about paying for growth, but the need for more law enforcement officers in Hayden is happening now.

“I think it's up to the people to determine if they want to tax themselves,” Saterfiel said. ”I love these kinds of things. We often do not get a choice on whether we want to tax ourselves, and this is a clear choice."

The levy override request will require a 60% supermajority to pass at the polls.

"This has been about giving the people the opportunity to make their check, or X, in whichever box they so choose," DePriest said. "They will make up their minds, whether they want or feel we need and/or whether they want to fund the additional deputies for that service."

Mayor Scott Forssell said he keeps going back to something said by a citizen during an Aug. 23 council meeting.

“He said that if you don’t fund the police, you are in effect defunding them," Forssell said. "I think that's an important point. I believe two things: First of all, we asked a group of citizens to examine a problem for us. They spent four months examining it exhaustively, and they came up with the unanimous compromised recommendation. To disregard those citizens' four months of work is wrong. We have to trust the people that we asked to solve our problems.

“Law enforcement in Hayden is about to change," he continued. "It’s a fact. The sheriff and the (Kootenai County) commissioners have essentially told us they are no longer willing to continue to subsidize law enforcement in the city of Hayden, the way they have been, anyway."

Forssell said he strongly supports the ballot, but just as importantly, he feels citizens should have a right to vote on how they see law enforcement in Hayden in the future.

The amended ballot language was also approved during the meeting, with Saterfiel and DePriest voting in favor and Roetter voting against.