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Council eyes undesignated funds to complete fire storage; capital foregone vote likely to be declined
Summary
Councilors discussed redirecting undesignated one‑time general‑fund dollars to a fire department storage building and signaled they would not pursue a $500,000 capital foregone levy item, favoring a smaller allocation and other funding sources to limit taxpayer impact.
Idaho Falls City Councilors spent part of the budget work session weighing whether to use undesignated city funds to complete a planned fire department storage building and how much to ask taxpayers to approve via foregone levy votes.
Council members discussed allocating existing undesignated funds — specifically a mix of one‑time balances and an ongoing designation — toward fire equipment storage so the department could protect vehicles and gear. One councilor proposed committing $404,000 of unallocated general‑fund dollars to the project and dropping a proposed $500,000 capital foregone request. "The goal is to get that storage built," a councilor said during the discussion.
Councilors noted that the storage project had been intended to be funded from several sources (foregone capital levy, impact fees and other funds) and that bid timing could affect cost estimates. City staff cautioned the $50,000 estimate from bond closeouts and other residuals were each estimates and could vary. Chief Nelson (Fire Chief) told the council the project would be bid and that earlier bidding in the season could produce better pricing.
Several councilors expressed sensitivity to cumulative tax impacts across local taxing entities, noting multiple simultaneous levy increases by the city, county and other bodies could create negative voter perceptions. Staff presented an impact table showing the estimated annual household effect: for a $385,000 home, accepting the capital foregone would have increased the bill by about $15 a year (about $1.25 a month); commercial property examples were also provided.
By the end of the work session councilors indicated they would likely vote to take the statutory 3% ongoing foregone and a 1% ongoing foregone but to vote "no" on the $500,000 capital foregone at the formal meeting; instead staff said they would reallocate unallocated general funds toward the storage building and seek other fund sources to cover any remaining gap. The council asked staff to finalize the allocation and to include the adjusted figures in Thursday's formal budget packets.
