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Kootenai County staff recommend FY26 funding for aquifer projects; parcel fee to stay at $5.74 for one more year
Summary
During a FY26 budget review, board members discussed a recommended package of external and internal projects for the aquifer program totaling roughly $839,947, including eight outside requests the staff recommended funding; staff recommended holding the parcel fee at $5.74 for another year and noted a public hearing scheduled for June 18.
County board members reviewed fiscal 2026 budget proposals for the county aquifer program and staff recommended funding a slate of projects that would draw on fund balance while holding the parcel fee at its current level for one more year.
Nisha Miani presented a review of revenues and expenses for 2020–2024 and described current projects and requests for FY26. Miani said parcel-fee revenue has been the primary revenue source (about $425,000) and that BNSF contributes about $100,000. She said overall revenues for the period ran roughly in the mid five-hundred-thousand-dollar range and that 2024 expenditures were $381,000. Miani reported the fund balance is about $1,000,000 and noted the district came in under budget in 2024 by about $124,000 because DEQ and Panhandle Health District programs were under budget by about $193,000 and an expected lidar expense was avoided when a free data source was found.
For FY26, staff received eight outside funding requests totaling $787,672 and presented a full recommended budget of $839,947. Staff recommended funding all eight outside requests and allocating internal amounts including $36,000 for county administration and support, $2,200 for education and supplies, and $50,000 toward work on defining sensitive aquifer recharge areas (SARAs). Staff said the recommended program would require drawing about $321,480 from the fund balance.
Miani highlighted several externally requested items: an additional $200,000 request from IWAC (after an initial $30,000 phase for data collection) to update an aquifer model focusing on the Idaho/Rathdrum Prairie side; $22,500 to Twin Lakes Flood Control for spillway maintenance and additional measurement work; monitoring equipment for a Green Ferry Water and Sewer District well at the aquifer edge; continued support for the Confluence Project and the University of Idaho youth water summit; and ongoing support for the Spokane River Forum. Miani said improving the definition of sensitive aquifer recharge areas is a key priority to allow defensible land-use tools such as ordinances, easements or other protection strategies, and that Hayden City faces similar definitional challenges.
On the parcel fee, Miani said the fee has been $5.74 since February 2017 (reduced then from $7) and recommended holding the fee at $5.74 for fiscal 2026, with the potential for future increases depending on costs of a SARA protection plan (possible consideration in 2028 or later).
A public hearing on related matters was noted for June 18. The transcript records the budget review and recommendations as discussion; the record does not show a formal vote on the FY26 budget or on accepting the recommended funding package at this meeting.
