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Council advances Ada County jail and EMS impact‑fee ordinances, approves IGAs and holds public hearing open
Summary
Council read ordinances by title that would place Ada County jail and EMS development impact‑fee language into Meridian code, approved intergovernmental collection agreements with Ada County and the EMS district, and continued the public hearing so cities can coordinate a multi‑city implementation plan. Proposed fees: about $516 per single‑family equivalent for jail and $175 per for EMS.
Meridian’s City Council advanced countywide impact‑fee implementation on June 16 by reading county‑prepared ordinances by title, approving two intergovernmental agreements for fee collection and expenditure, and deciding to keep the public hearing open through next week to allow further input before final votes on the ordinances.
Staff summarized the county’s fee studies and the recommended implementation approach: the Ada County jail fee (expressed as an equivalent single‑family unit fee) is approximately $516 per single‑family residence, and the Ada County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) district fee is about $175 per single‑family residence, with parallel nonresidential fee schedules derived from trip or service unit equivalents. Staff recommended adopting the ordinances and the IGAs, but tying actual fee collection to a coordinated multi‑city implementation so the collection date would occur once participating jurisdictions completed necessary procedural steps.
Ada County Chief Operating Officer Steve Rutherford told council that Star and Eagle are already collecting the fees, Kuna had completed its process and was preparing to collect, Garden City was proceeding with readings, and Boise City remained in active discussions and had scheduled staff‑level meetings; county officials emphasized willingness to consider certain targeted exemptions or adjustments (for example, affordable‑housing exemptions and ADU questions) during final drafting with Boise.
Council voted to keep the public hearing open through next week to allow additional public comment and then took two actions by motion: approval of an intergovernmental agreement with Ada County for collection/expenditure of the jail impact fee, and approval of an intergovernmental agreement with the Ada County EMS district for EMS fee collection. Council approved both IGAs by voice vote.
What happens next: staff recommended three readings of the ordinances (title read now, second reading next week, third reading in early July) and publication of a summary. The city can place the ordinances on its code, but actual fee collection would not begin until a coordinated implementation threshold is met among the county’s incorporated cities. Staff also noted modest upfront IT/programming and staff‑time costs to implement collection processes and suggested those can be managed within existing resources or discussed with the county if desired.
