KOOTENAI COUNTY, Idaho — Voters in Kootenai County will decide Tuesday whether or not to fund measures local schools and fire departments say are critical for maintaining community safety.
The Coeur d’Alene Fire Department is requesting a 10-year, $16 million bond to help manage a significant increase in service calls. If approved, it would cost the owner of a $425,000 home approximately $70 per year.
“We have had a roughly 35% increase in call volume since the last general obligation bond in 2015,” said Jeff Sells, Deputy Fire Chief of the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department. “And this is how we fund these capital improvements and vehicle replacements.”
The ballot also includes education funding. The Post Falls School District hopes to replace a nearly $12 million levy set to expire in June.
“The levy pays for all extracurricular activities in athletics. It pays for virtually all of our school safety, so think surveillance cameras, campus security, school resource officers, nursing health room aides,” said Dena Naccarato, Superintendent of Post Falls School District.
Part of the Post Falls levy would fund the district’s participation in Kootenai Technical Education Campus (KTEC), which provides vocational training for students.
Bill White, Director of KTEC, said the funding is crucial.
“All of these trades and fields that they’re being trained in are all high-demand areas, and there’s a huge demand for it. I think it opens the doors for them as far as that.”
The Lakeland School District has placed a similar levy on the ballot. Both school district measures require more than 50% approval to pass.
“This levy is fundamental to our operations,” Naccarato said.
Kootenai County election officials are already processing early ballots ahead of Tuesday’s special election. Voters must go to their specific polling places to cast their ballots.
For more information on the different ballot measures and to find your specific polling place, visit www.voteidaho.gov.
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