Coeur d'Alene eyes higher fees

Rates for municipal parking, boat moorings, special events and even goat grazing permits could be restructured.

Coeur d’Alene’s General Services Committee discussed Monday possibly increasing a long list of fees that could generate up to $100,000 more in annual revenue, and that’s just for parking.

“These are, really, fees that we felt are defendable and appropriate for our area,” said Renata McLeod, Coeur d’Alene’s municipal services director and city clerk.

After completing a fee hearing in August, the city is eyeing increases of more than 5% on many items. 

Among the parking fee increases, annual parking passes at McEuen and Memorial Field will rise from $10.50 to $20 for Coeur d’Alene residents. In contrast, the rate for Kootenai County residents will rise from $21 to $30. The Coeur d’Alene Avenue Parking structure will increase the monthly secured parking rate from $60 to $100, and monthly passes for all spaces will be $35. 

At the Third Street Mooring Dock, there’s a proposal to increase the overnight rate from $50 to $75 and raise mooring nonpayment violations to $100.

For on-street parking, the city of Coeur d’Alene usually issues a free courtesy notice to vehicles parked longer than 2 hours. The city is now looking to add a $10 courtesy fee to the parking courtesy notice.

The city is also proposing fee increases for several other items. Fees for portable toilets, taxicab licenses, fire system reviews and much more are up for approval.

“The (Parks) Department is requesting fee increases for maintenance and operations,” city documents say. “There has been a surge in non-local residents purchasing lots and niches since 2020; therefore, they are adding a non-resident fee. 

Shooting films on location in Coeur d’Alene may also be affected. The daily fee for high-impact productions, which include 16-20 crew members, will increase from $300 to $600.

Meanwhile, the one homeowners association in town that uses it will now be charged $110 for a goat weed abatement permit. 

“The (police) Department would like to establish a fee for the Goat Permit created last year,” city documents say. “After reviewing the staff time involved in use of goats it was determined that approximately 2 hours of animal control would be utilized to monitor the site, the fee reflects that expense.”

The General Services Committee also spent time on Monday discussing how the city can bolster revenue from special events.

McLeod said the city could divide events into high-, medium-, and low-impact categories and charge fees based on those categories.

Between the city’s Car d’Lane Classic Car Weekend, St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Street Fair and Holiday Lighting Parade, it incurs over $43,000 in overtime costs. After reviewing how other U.S. cities charge for special events, McLeod said Coeur d’Alene could have event sponsors pay anticipated overtime costs upfront or 30 days after the event.

“Obviously, the closure of the roads is an impact to our community,” McLeod said. “The number of events we have in one month, the number of participants and spectators, when there's also alcohol involved, fireworks … all these things go into the consideration of how we do safety plans and traffic control plans.”

General Services Commissioner Amy Evans supported this event fee structure.

“I think it makes sense to change the categories and also to charge event parking fees,” she said.

The city is expected to vote on the proposed fee increases Nov. 3.