Canyon County looks to trim 2009 budget

Falling revenue from building permits is one of the factors forcing the county to cut back.

BY KRISTIN RODINE - krodine@idahostatesman.com

Published: 07/24/08


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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

MEETING INFORMATION

WHAT: Canyon County commissioners to discuss proposed budget cuts for the next fiscal year.

WHEN: 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Thursday.

WHERE: Canyon County Courthouse, 1115 Albany St., Caldwell.

Falling revenues from building permits and other sources have prompted Canyon County commissioners to ask department heads to cut their budget requests by 10 percent for the next fiscal year.

Commissioners will meet Thursday to go over the suggested cuts, which would pare about $66 million worth of budget requests down to fit projected revenues of about $60 million, Controller Chris Harris said.

Requests for additional positions or other budget increases will be rejected, and some vacant positions will likely go unfilled, Commissioner Steve Rule said, but each department has been asked to find its own solutions.

The resulting budget would be about 10 percent lower than this year's budget of $73.6 million for tax-funded departments, she said.

Building permits are down about 45 percent from last year's level, Harris said, and recording fees are down about 35 percent.

"We've been reaping the benefits of rapid growth in our county for the past four or five years," Rule said. "Now that's slowed."

A lull in the county's once-booming residential development is the chief cause of the belt-tightening, Rule said. There have been some sizeable commercial developments, he said, but most have been in urban renewal districts in Nampa and Caldwell. The districts keep tax revenue from new development and increased property values within their boundaries.

Rule said the budget-trimming likely won't affect the plan to build a jail or buy a state building in Caldwell to house some county offices. But at this point, nothing is exempt from reconsideration, he said.

Exactly what will be cut won't be known until July 29, when the proposed budget is set for fiscal 2009, which begins Oct. 1, Harris said. Residents will be able to weigh in on that proposal at a public hearing at 6 p.m. Aug. 13. The budget will be finalized later that month.

Kristin Rodine: 377-6447

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