Boise City Council approves interim budget changes to advance airport staffing, housing and infrastructure projects

Boise City Council approved nine interim budget changes at its work session, advancing a set of department requests that city staff said will support airport operations, housing acquisition and several public-works projects.

City staff member Alicia told the council the airport plans to hire nine full-time employees to support the terminal expansion and a new rental car facility and that “the ongoing costs are, starting in FY27, will be about $720,000.” She said the FY26 action would allow the airport to begin hiring immediately rather than waiting for the FY27 budget cycle.

The package included a roughly $79,000, budget-neutral appropriation from airport funds for a percent-for-art history exhibit at the new rental car facility; an advance of $2,000,000 from the FY27 budget to accelerate the North Block redevelopment so a contractor can move directly from the South Block to the North Block; and an $84,000 reimbursement from the city housing investment fund to the impact-fee fund to cover fees exempted for an affordable senior housing project under city ordinance.

Staff also requested $1,500,000 in Community Development Block Grant and city housing investment funds to purchase about 1.6 acres on North Cole Road for future affordable housing, citing the site’s proximity to transit and commercial services and alignment with the city’s land-trust strategy. Public Works sought a $50,000 increase in expense and revenue to execute a Rocky Mountain Institute grant for electric-vehicle charging at two city-owned affordable housing sites, with project completion anticipated by December 2026.

Other changes reallocated existing appropriations to address increased capital costs at the Lander Street water renewal facility (a $6.7 million reallocation), added roughly $109,000 in revenue from an Idaho Water Resource Board aging-infrastructure grant plus a $156,000 fund-balance appropriation for irrigation-system improvements affecting about 400 properties, and allocated $155,000 from the water renewal collection system for facility maintenance (gate replacement and fire-sprinkler work) identified after budget adoption.

A council member moved approval of the interim budget changes; another council member seconded. After the clerk polled the council, the mayor declared the motion carried.

The council did not vote on individual items separately; staff said some of the appropriations are budget-neutral or will be reconciled in FY27 budget documents. Several council members asked follow-up questions about which EV chargers would be for residents or public use and how neighborhood-specific funding exemptions are reimbursed. Staff said the airport positions are funded from airport revenues (airline/aircraft taxes) rather than property taxes and that the FY26 hires are in addition to positions already proposed in the FY27 budget.

The council moved next to a historic preservation plan update and later convened an executive session on labor negotiations.