COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — Kootenai County commissioners will consider a recommendation today on whether to impose impact fees on development to support the sheriff’s office, jail accommodations, the coroner’s office and parks and waterway improvements.
If commissioners vote to impose impact fees, cities within the county must agree to collect the fees, as reported by our news partners, the Coeur d'Alene Press.
The impact fee plan is expected to include a commitment from the county to hire 29 more patrol deputies over the next decade.
That number is what’s needed to maintain the current level of service, based on the county’s projected growth.
Because current commissioners cannot bind future boards, impact fees would not be endangered if the county can’t fund the additional deputies in the future.
The new hires would require about 20,000 feet of additional space, in the form of a substation or an addition to the sheriff’s office.
Kootenai County would also commit to completing two unfinished housing units at the jail as part of the plans. The shells of these “pods” were built during the last jail expansion in 2018 and could accommodate another 108 people at the consistently overcrowded jail.
Though commissioners have indicated that they’re open to such a commitment, it’s unclear whether the county can hire the employees it would have to promise in exchange for the fees.
Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris has been vocal about staffing shortages at the jail, which he attributes mostly to wages.
Today’s meeting will begin at 10:30 a.m. at the county administration building. It will also be streamed live on the county’s YouTube channel.
The Coeur d'Alene Press is a KREM 2 news partner. For more from our partners, click here.
