Cd'A favors job holds, vehicle replacement delays

Attempting to balance a forecasted budget deficit, Coeur d’Alene city officials on Tuesday approved delaying certain hires and capital requests. 

They will, however, add a new building inspector and allocate extra funds for an infrastructure project.

“This is what it means to live within your means,” Mayor Dan Gookin said.

The city is currently facing a $3.1 million deficit heading into fiscal year 2027, with projected revenue of about $58.79 million versus about $61.87 million in expenditures.

The upcoming shortfall has recently prompted city officials to consider raising annual taxes by 7%. This includes a 4% property tax increase and an additional 3% increase for capital expenditures, the city said.

If approved, the current rate of $2.57 per $1,000 of taxable assessed value would bump to $2.70. This means property taxes for a person who owns a house valued at $500,000 would increase from $1,285 yearly to $1,350.

The city has yet to reveal how much more in revenue the 7% increase will generate. 

The city also recently proposed making certain budget adjustments that would reduce the preliminary 2027 fiscal year deficit to about $1.92 million. This included holding at least 2.5 full-time equivalent positions, not replacing three pickup trucks, transferring annexation fees to the general fund and withholding extra funds requested for a street overlay project.

On Tuesday, Coeur d’Alene City Council greenlit most of these budget adjustments, except for two items. 

For the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, the city still intends to hire an additional building inspector for $104,043. Meanwhile, the city originally requested an extra $250,000 for a street overlay project; it whittled that down to $125,000.

The approved adjustments: 

• Transfer of remaining Annexation Fee Fund balance to the general fund: $477,408

• Delay replacement of two streets/engineering general use pickup trucks: $110,000

• Defer special overlay program increase, maintain regular street overlay budget: $125,000

• Defer additional 1.0 FTE HVAC technician position: $103,316

• Remove vacant .5 FTE deputy city attorney position: $67,882 

• Delay replacement of recreation department general use pickup truck: $40,000

• Defer planning department intern: $5,000

• Total savings: $928,606

The city’s decision to defer an additional building inspector was based on the time it takes to inspect both residential and commercial development. Right now, it takes the city four weeks to fully inspect a residential permit and six weeks for a commercial.

According to City Building Official Ted Lantzy, deferring an in-house building inspector forces the city to contract a third party. This also means the city would have to prioritize certain building processes over others.

The city currently has four dedicated building inspectors. Between 2024 and 2025 alone, they inspected a total of 2,711 building permits. 

“If we prioritize inspections, then the planning reviews are delayed,” Lantzy said. “That’s where a lot of our concern is right now.”

Meanwhile, earlier this month the city increased fees for the building department. This generates 15% more than its projected $2.1 million, Lantzy said. 

“They’ll pay for the position and new software,” Gookin said.

Streets and Engineering Department Director Todd Feusier also spoke of the potential negative impacts if the city withheld additional funding for the overlay project. 

“We either chip seal,” he said, “or we pave.” 

As to whether the full 7% tax increase will happen, Gookin told the Coeur d’Alene Press on Wednesday that “our final number may be a little bit less.”

A budget hearing, planned for Sept. 1, has been pushed back to Sept. 15.