Idaho Falls City Council votes unanimously against raising property taxes
Many homeowners in Idaho Falls are breathing a sigh of relief, after a unanimous city council decision not to raise property taxes.
Still, the city has some work to do to cover the budget deficit and council members say they’re ready to push forward.
Council members describe Thursday night’s budget meeting as a pretty stressful one.
“Whiplash was my primary concern,” joked councilwoman Sharon Parry of the meeting.
Most council members went on vacation first thing Friday morning, but we managed to catch councilwoman Ida Hardcastle just before she left for the Idaho Falls Airport.
“We need a breather, because this has been very, very intense,” said Hardcastle, of the council’s budget discussions.
We caught up with Parry at a City Club event.
The councilwoman, who usually votes against the others, said she is pleased her fellow members agreed to not raise property taxes a little over 3 percent for Idaho Falls.
“It’s important as city leaders to have a pulse on the community, and it was obvious to me that the community did not want that huge tax raise,” Parry said.
The tax increase was meant to cover the $1.1 million budget deficit Idaho Falls has been facing, mostly due to a 1 percent raise for city employees.
At Thursday night’s council meeting, dozens of people showed up to ask their city leaders to come up with the money some other way.
“I’m glad the residents won,” Parry said. “It’s what I think is best for our community.”
“I have been on the city council for 19 years,” said Hardcastle. “And it was as passionate as I have seen with a couple of exceptions.”
For now, the city will tap into its savings.
When it comes to moving forward, both Hardcastle and Parry have similar ideas.
“Probably top of the list is to look at the health care benefits (for city employees),” Parry said.
“I realize our employees have a really good deal, but I guess we’re going to have to go back to the drawing board on that,” Hardcastle said.
Parry expects the entire city council to come together for a work session within the next month to make those budget cuts.
