County plans public hearing for jail impact fees

COEUR d’ALENE — Kootenai County residents will have a chance early next year to weigh in on proposed impact fees to support the jail.

County commissioners agreed Tuesday to schedule a public hearing on the matter in mid-January 2024.

“That would be the next step,” Bruce Mattare said.

The hearing will come after months of talks between the county and cities, which date back to July, when commissioners asked 12 cities to collect impact fees to support the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office, Parks and Waterways and the jail.

Several mayors pushed back on the requests, calling the proposal unfair to their residents. But they expressed willingness over the summer to discuss impact fees for the Kootenai County Jail because all cities utilize it.

The jail has been consistently overcrowded for the past two years, according to the sheriff’s office, with an average inmate population of 488.

Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris has long lobbied commissioners to fund the completion of two unfinished dormitory pods at the jail, which would add 108 beds to the facility. The board voted unanimously in October to set aside $9 million for the project.

Under Idaho law, impact fees may only be used to defray system improvement costs incurred to provide additional public facilities serving new growth. Impact fee ordinances must also provide detailed descriptions of the methodology by which costs per unit are determined.

Mattare said Tuesday that the county has provided the city of Rathdrum with requested information about the methodology. Rathdrum’s legal counsel for the city previously said the connection between population growth and the need for jail beds is unclear.

Jail impact fees appear to be untested in Idaho. Ada and Canyon counties have reportedly considered using impact fees to support their jails, but no jurisdiction has passed an ordinance to do so yet.