Use urban renewal tax money to pay for … a jail? See what Canyon County is up to
Canyon County will use property tax dollars to work on a new county jail, after all. But with a twist.
The county sought taxpayer money through a bond four times between 2006 and 2019, but each time the voters said no. This left the Sheriff’s Office with an overcrowded 28-year-old jail, the Dale Haile Detention Center in Caldwell. The county installed a large tent-like building to house inmates and in 2019 installed jail trailers to house female inmates. Kieran Donahue, Canyon County Sheriff, called each one of these “stopgap measures.”
Now county officials think they have found a funding mechanism for jail infrastructure: the northern Caldwell urban renewal district.
In October, the Caldwell City Council approved an initial plan to create the 895-acre district along Interstate 84 and U.S. 20/26 near Farmway Road. Caldwell planning staff members said the area had not sparked interest from developers because of a lack of connectivity to the highways and the difficult topography that includes canals and the Boise River. Caldwell wants to attract manufacturers and housing developers to the area.
The mostly agricultural acreage is nearly 100% on county land, so it needed the Board of Canyon County Commissioners’ approval. The city plans to annex the development as it happens.
On Tuesday, the commission voted 2-1 to approve the urban renewal district, thus giving up part of the county’s future tax base to fund the district.
Caldwell officials asked the commission in 2019 to approve a nearly identical plan, but the board shot it down because it did not want to give up so much of its tax base. This time, Caldwell officials sweetened the deal by offering to partner with the county to help fund infrastructure for a future county jail.
When an urban renewal district is created, the tax base is frozen for all taxing districts, such as school districts and the county, that get property tax dollars from taxpayers in the area. Any increase in property value afterward is diverted away from the taxing districts, and goes into the urban renewal agency to pay for infrastructure to prepare the area for developers. The revenue is diverted for the life of the district — 20 years.
The district cannot legally pay for the jail itself. That fundamental problem still faces the commissioners. In May 2019, the estimated cost of the jail project was $187 million.
But urban renewal funds can pay for infrastructure such as roads, gutters, power lines, gas and a parking lot. That could cover some of the jail’s cost.
The idea drew opposition from Canyon County Controller Zach Wagoner.
“Taxpayers have been asked if they want increased property taxes for a jail, and they have spoken and said no,” Wagoner said during a county meeting on Monday. “This is property tax. This is backdoor property tax to fund a jail.”
Wagoner argues that as the urban renewal area develops into apartments, single-family homes and businesses, its new residents will need increased county services. The burden to pay for those will fall to existing property-tax payers, because of the diversion of urban-renewal taxes.
“We have heard repeatedly from residential taxpayers that their property tax bills are skyrocketing,” Wagoner said.
Wagoner added that urban renewal money is not a “new funding mechanism” as Commissioner Keri Smith, its chief proponent, touted it to be.
“It is property tax,” he said.
Urban renewal proponents and opponents
Caldwell’s planning staff and Mayor Garret Nancolas were advocates for the district. Developers are drawn to areas with infrastructure already in place, they said, and Caldwell is competing for business on a national and international scale.
Smith, along with Commissioner Leslie Van Beek, voted to support the urban renewal district.
Smith was the former director of Destination Caldwell, a group of residents and business owners who advocate for city revitalization. Through urban renewal, Caldwell has revitalized its downtown to include Indian Creek Plaza, attracting businesses like Flying M Coffee, Soda Burst and Rediscovered Books. Urban renewal also funded the North Ranch Business Park, a 115-acre development with offices, retail and industrial businesses.
Commissioner Pam White, who was opposed to the district in 2019, voted no this time, too.
“This is not … what I believe is what is best for the taxpayers and the thousands of citizens in Canyon County,” White said.
Other Canyon County elected officials said they didn’t have enough time to review Caldwell’s plan.
In an email to the commissioners, Assessor Brian Stender said he did not receive the final urban renewal plan from Caldwell until 7 p.m. Monday ahead of the commissioners’ vote at 4 p.m. the next day.
“We have had portions of this for four days now, but the meat of it was provided last night,” Stender said in the email, a copy of which was provided to the Idaho Statesman. “If at all possible I would ask that you push off this vote for a couple days and let us all have a couple days to iron out some of the questions.”
Stender wanted to have an elected officials’ meeting before the final vote, because he wanted “all questions worked through before a decision is made that will have an impact for 20 years.”
The Caldwell Urban Renewal Agency Board will discuss Canyon County’s decision at a special meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 22.
This story was originally published November 18, 2021 at 4:00 AM.
