Boise mayor’s plan not to raise property taxes has council support. What’s it mean for you?
The Boise City Council expressed support Tuesday for Mayor Lauren McLean’s proposal not to raise taxes for the 2021 fiscal year, opening the door for Boise to keep property taxes flat.
State law allows cities to take as much as a 3% increase without requiring voter approval, and Boise usually claims the full 3%. Earlier this year, McLean proposed that the city take only a 2% increase, but last week, she announced her proposal to have no increase at all, because she wants Boise to “play a role in lessening the impact of rising costs of living in our community.”
“I think in this year, we really would be remiss not to” support there being no increase, Council President Elaine Clegg said. “We’ve got a lot of people who are struggling.”
Other members of the council also voiced support. Budgets are proposed by the mayor and approved by the council, so the council’s support of the plan puts it that much closer to becoming a reality.
But what does that mean for Boiseans?
If Boise takes no increase, the average homeowner would save about $27 on their tax bill, Eric Bilimoria, the city’s budget manager, told the council during its Tuesday work session.
“It means there would be no growth to, essentially, existing customers,” Bilimoria said. The city would continue to tax new construction, he said, as is allowed by state law.
“As new homes or businesses are built, and new payers are coming into the system, there is an opportunity to collect taxes from those new payers to help with growth for us.”
In total, the change would mean Boise brings in about $3.2 million less in revenue in the coming fiscal year than it would if the city were to take the originally proposed 2%, Bilimoria said.
He proposed that the city cut that amount from three areas. He said $2 million would be saved by reducing the amount transferred to the city’s capital fund. Another $950,000 would come from contingency accounts, and a final $250,000 could come from citywide strategic initiatives, including solar projects and energy initiatives. Those energy initiatives could still move forward, though, Bilimoria said.
If the City Council approves a budget with no tax increase, the city could still claw back that money in the form of forgone taxes in future years.
Boise also could be eligible for money from the state. Gov. Brad Little announced last week that the state is offering up to $200 million in funds from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to go toward salaries of emergency service personnel. The goal of that, Little said in a release, would be to give that money “back to the people of Idaho in the form of property tax relief.”
If the city opts into that program, it could be eligible for about $480,000, Bilimoria said. It could help offset the money diverted from the contingency accounts, he said. The deadline for the city to decide is July 17.
Boise will release a formal budget report on June 26, Bilimoria said, with a budget workshop on June 30. Residents can weigh in on the budget during the city’s scheduled public hearing on it, planned for July 21.
The new fiscal year starts Oct. 1.
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