Idaho Falls proposes fee changes, shifts services to enterprise funds and lists new FTE requests

City staff told the council that several operational functions previously budgeted in governmental funds will move to enterprise funds and that a set of fee adjustments are proposed to align costs with those shifts.

Pam and Brooks described a set of reallocations: storm water costs, street sweeping and other services will be charged directly to the enterprise funds that use them (for example, sanitation taking street sweeping and power assuming traffic‑signal/street‑light costs). Staff said the reallocation is intended to make cost‑of‑service clearer and to align capital and operating charges with utility rate structures.

Nut graf: The shift in where costs are billed changes how departmental operating budgets read in the draft and will reduce some general‑fund operating lines while increasing enterprise charges; staff said the changes do not in themselves increase total city spending but will reassign where the costs appear.

Staff proposed fee changes in several enterprise areas: water service connection fees (+3%), monthly water fees (+5%), wastewater main connection fees (+5%), sanitation monthly fees (+5%), power charges (varying increases, most often 4–6% depending on rate component), fiber monthly charges (3–9%), and an airport customer facility charge increase from $4 to $6 for car‑rental customers.

Pam also summarized departmental FTE requests that are included on the request list: a utility billing/customer‑service representative (100% enterprise funded), a planner for Community Development (general‑fund request), a GIS technician (cost allocated across funds), a cemetery maintenance operator and a zookeeper request in Parks & Recreation (departmental requests not included in the proposed base unless funded). Police asked for a school‑resource officer; staff said the school would fund roughly 70% of that position under the proposed contract and that the city’s net cost would appear in later budgets.

Staff flagged grant‑timing and seasonal revenue uncertainty for fees tied to recreation, building permits and zoo admissions, and they said they will ask fee‑funded departments to amend budgets if revenues underperform during summer months.

Ending: Councilors requested department‑level worksheets showing the net budget effect of reallocations and fee changes and asked for specifics on payer impacts and timing before final adoption.