[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6509165,"mediaKeyId","5442655-8aad00ae801a12cc97b3942f57e2dc84","parentId",5442655,"title","Idaho Falls treasurer reports 7.15% valuation growth; council previews tentative budget and earmarks $500,000 capital foregone for fire storage","audioSeconds",180,"startMs",1450000,"endMs",1630000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5442655-8aad00ae801a12cc97b3942f57e2dc84&start=1450&end=1630","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5442655-8aad00ae801a12cc97b3942f57e2dc84/thumbnail_1450000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6509165/Idaho-Falls/Bonneville-County/Idaho/Idaho-Falls-treasurer-reports-715-valuation-growth-council-previews-tentative-budget-and-earmarks-500000-capital-foregone-for-fire-storage","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6509165-e419c5536bf04b8d2512a78f1dd3840f/orig.mp4?Expires=1770442716&Signature=U6bsRkGHVZic9~VMMLPqs9saX19VdxYCNqazYAFiX1ah6T-WtnrlyGl2Wtoy65OBeKJN1YUpgPiWrvzBJqWfNMIEUg5wbXd2L6NmsXU7~KYQ7ZthmKsxeJywZuHedaBvGSraBM5WAtYWyV0h9L4tOrRhHC-UpH50xSIbu--WuJfwQOZ9rzPpUdyiKte3f5bdLCoOkEg6TsA0yesVEG~LgGVwg7PBB4m24zwM0IsrGcOA9BfukuV24x54TvtwTHwNFdfmG2n54RkVuH9wPmfOQsmAwPUYVQSJ64SZJJwqrRUINTSSRxt9FzU93CJBtD0tvkpuI6lQAX~ZhZxBadSypA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Idaho Falls City","date","2025-07-22T00:00:00Z","article","City Treasurer Mark presented preliminary property valuation figures Thursday that the city used to build its tentative budget: new construction for tax year 2024 was estimated at about $177 million, annexations added about $832,000, and an overall valuation adjustment of about 4.9% produced a blended valuation increase of roughly 7.15%.

Mark explained how the city's levy options interact: the council can take the statutory 3% increase first, then growth from new construction and annexation, and then draw on foregone capacity; the maximum allowable increase by state law is the 8% statutory cap without voter approval. He warned that valuation shifts can cause a tax shift between residential and commercial property classes; this year the valuation increase is concentrated in commercial property.

Why it matters: The council must adopt a tentative budget and publish notices before receiving final county numbers. Preliminary decisions now shape what is advertised and placeholds the options the council will vote on during the formal August public hearings.

Key fiscal figures and legal constraints
Mark presented the draft numbers used for the council's worksheet: an estimated $177,000,000 of new construction for tax year 2024 and a valuation adjustment of roughly 4.9%, which together produced a blended valuation change of about 7.15%. He noted the city's statutory maximum levy leeway (an 8% maximum increase without voter approval) and explained that additional increases beyond the statutory and growth amounts require specific voter-approved overrides.

Council direction on budget items and fee changes
Finance staff and department directors walked the council through departmental requests, fee changes and reallocation of services from governmental funds to enterprise funds (for example, moving street light and traffic signal costs into the power enterprise). Several items were approved for inclusion in the draft budget or for further work:

- A customer-service representative FTE in municipal services, fully funded by enterprise utilities, was confirmed for inclusion.
- A GIS technician position will be retained; the streets portion is about $13,380 (citywide cost shared across utilities and streets).
- Police requests include a contingent funding posture for a shooting range project if the city closes out Certificates of Participation (COP) and frees about $950,000 in trust proceeds to apply to the project; council set that item as a contingent one-time use tied to COP closeout authority.

Council decision on capital foregone and next steps
Council members debated whether to advertise use of capital foregone (the one-time portion of the 3% capital authority). After discussion about competing one-time needs (streets maintenance, fire facility needs, police range) the council reached a preliminary consensus to advertise an intent to use up to $500,000 of the available capital foregone for the storage building at the new north-side fire station. That figure represents a partial use of the city's available foregone/capacity and would be a one-time capital allocation; the council president and several councilors signaled support while one councilor explicitly opposed taking the full 3% foregone.

Timing and legal notices
Finance staff summarized the schedule: the council will adopt a tentative budget at next week's meeting, the tentative budget and fee proposals will be published for required notice (advertisements Aug. 2 and Aug. 9 noted), and public hearings on rates, foregone and the tentative budget will take place in August with final adoption later in the month. Staff emphasized that the county's final valuation numbers (expected the week of Aug. 4) will be used to refine final tax-impact estimates.

Ending
Council members left several items in contingency to be finalized after the county numbers arrive, and staff will present updated worksheets at the next work session. The council also directed staff to proceed with the public-notice steps necessary to advertise the tentative budget and the potential capital foregone allocation for public comment.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Idaho Falls City - City Council Work Session - Jul 22, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","City Treasurer Mark presented preliminary property valuation figures and an overview of levy options as the council prepared to adopt a tentative budget; council tentatively earmarked up to $500,000 of one-time capital foregone for a fire storage building and agreed to several departmental inclusions and contingent items.","taxTitle","Idaho Falls, Bonneville County, Idaho","taxId",4472,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6509171,"Idaho Falls council hears library—appeal to cover salary increases; board may tap reserves",1163,205000,1368000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5442655-8aad00ae801a12cc97b3942f57e2dc84&start=205&end=1368","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5442655-8aad00ae801a12cc97b3942f57e2dc84/thumbnail_205000.jpg","/articles/6509171/Idaho-Falls/Bonneville-County/Idaho/Idaho-Falls-council-hears-libraryappeal-to-cover-salary-increases-board-may-tap-reserves","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6509171-ffa05aacb7dfe067a89a2f0c12f9ca47/orig.mp4?Expires=1770442716&Signature=TkT11boSflGDF6iqWziKmClok3HNwoHDejWfrp2syWaI1Hre3Ho9ISZG1YNHyHtDssvFLaDou7aQyQbQ~JEM4xcUONPLkJ4i5QhLNTXE7IAuUEFcG32YcGHtEE6~wCQwYLilNcWrGm-j8j80Ai5v~gkrPgNDJAfc88SPscGBA8xV-YlaPgqtVO45p52kjFubta7rt4QQo6mkv420IhkY4eonZjr7q9-Pf6h3iQf3If1qcfszBBVuQGqLMJbyoZ9q9cClI5XJ5w1fL0GMnYfJvg-zEk8sU-Z2~Yg5~4CULvtxyC3wLccN~07aaaSJiuUc-q~AFhXg2AxoqRtTw-4jmQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Council members on Thursday discussed a request from library representatives to add personnel funding to the city's draft budget after officials found the proposed budget does not include money for previously discussed salary increases.

The library requested that the council add roughly $60,000 to cover part of the personnel increase this year and said the library board would contribute about $120,000 from its fund balance if the council does not provide additional ongoing revenue. Robert, a library staff member who presented the request, said: \"If you don't give us the revenue, then the result is we take it out of fund balance. Okay. Or we decrease staff in hours.\" The council directed staff to place $60,000 on the list of items for later consideration in the budget process.

Why it matters: The city will adopt a tentative budget next week, and funding choices this month determine whether the library must reduce hours or staff or draw down its reserves. The library's service model is staff-heavy, and officials warned that continued reliance on reserves will not be sustainable without new revenue.

Library request and board proposal
Robert told the council the library's current operating plan does not include additional money to cover the pay adjustments the council approved earlier this year. He said the library board would not recommend proceeding with an exterior remodeling project on Broadway if personnel shortages force lower hours and fewer services.

Robert described two near-term options: the council provide ongoing revenue to cover the pay increases or the library use fund balance to bridge the gap and reduce hours or staff as necessary. He said the board's working assumption, subject to formal board action, was that the library would use about $120,000 of its fund balance this year to avoid immediate service cuts.

Council and staff discussion
Council members and staff cited several causes of the shortfall. City Treasurer Mark said the library has not increased its levy consistently to match annual personnel cost increases, and Council members noted the county's withdrawal of funding in 2023 removed roughly $600,000 from the library's revenue stream.

Councilor Lisa and others emphasized that modern library operations are payroll-heavy because programming and digital services require staff time. \"Libraries now across the country are primarily programming,\" a councilor commented during the discussion, noting items such as 3-D printing and podcasting studios.

Fiscal context and options
Finance staff told the council the library fund balance is roughly in the $3 million to $4 million range when including unspent amounts; the library is proposing to use up to $1 million over five years to smooth the transition while the city and library board develop a plan to incrementally increase ongoing funding.

Council direction and next steps
Council members instructed finance staff to add $60,000 to the list of items to consider when finalizing the tentative budget. Finance staff later incorporated a personnel-only increase for the library into the growth/annexation funding shown on the council's working worksheet; council members said they want a joint, collaborative process between the library board and city finance staff to produce a longer-term funding plan before relying on fund balance repeatedly.

The tentative budget will be published ahead of the council's August hearings; council members said they expect further discussion of whether the city will provide incremental, ongoing funding, allow the library to use reserves, or accept reduced hours and services.

Ending
The council's formal budget schedule calls for adoption of a tentative budget next week and public hearings in August. The library board will meet and decide whether to use reserves if the council does not add revenue to the library's allocation. The council asked staff to keep the $60,000 request on the list for consideration at the upcoming budget hearings and work sessions.","Library representatives told the council the current draft city budget does not include funds for staff pay increases. The library board is proposing using up to about $120,000 of its fund balance this year and a plan to draw up to $1 million over five years while the city crafts a path to ongoing funding.","actionData","errors"]

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Idaho Falls treasurer reports 7.15% valuation growth; council previews tentative budget and earmarks $500,000 capital foregone for fire storage

Idaho Falls council hears library—appeal to cover salary increases; board may tap reserves