Gone are the days of “putting the people first.”

A recent ruling by 4th District Court Judges simply fails the test of logic when it comes to deciding who pays the costs of justice…Unfortunately it arguably passes the test of law. Under the Idaho Code, the court is ordering Boise City to pay about $1 million annually because Boise is the “prime user” of the courts and judges.

WE ALSO PAY MORE TAXES TO ADA COUNTY! Yet, they want us to pay additional fees. (every Boise taxpayer is also an Ada County taxpayer) That’s like WalMArt charging higher prices to people who are repeat customers and spend the most money.

The decision of the court is an “administrative ruling,” but it can–and should–be appealed to the Idaho Supreme Court. Simple logic tells us a city with more population–and more criminals–will have more trials and hearings. The city also generates more fines and court costs for things like judges retirement funds and police training. The city’s arguments are hindered by an old City/County agreement–and state law that allows courts to order municipalities to provide magistrate court facilities and staff.

It all got murky when Ada Commishes in the late 1990’s consolidated all the courts into the current court house which was never approved by a binding vote of citizens. That put a lot of pressure on Ada County to find cash to pay for the new facility. Magistrate court was formerly at the City-County law enforcement building on Barrister–apparently provided by the city, according to court documents which acknowledge the line between city and county became blurred.

Meridian and Garden City do not pay for use of the courts and have ignored court orders to “provide magistrate court facilities.”

The Daily Paper quoted Ada Commish Fred Tilman as saying Eagle, Star and Kuna pay a fair court share “through an agreement with the county.” That statement is simply not true.

What Tilman was apparently talking about is the fact that Kuna, Eagle, and Star are “customers” of the sheriff who rents his badge to those communities. They do not have their own police forces and pay the sheriff to run their police services. HOWEVER, those contracts have nothing whatsoever to do with the cost and operation of the courts. Because the sheriff has three cities as customers certainly doesn’t relieve those municipalities of an obligation to pay their share.

The Ada County Prosecutor also provides (for a fee) criminal legal services to Eagle, Kuna, and Star, but that doesn’t cover the courts either.

To summarize: The Ada Sheriff rents his badge to Eagle, Kuna, and Star. Ada’s 4th District Judges want Boise to rent court rooms and clerks from the Commishes for their use. Boise’s City Attorney rents lawyers to Meridian (forgot to tell you about that one!) to prosecute misdemeanors and traffic cases simultaneously with Boise cases.

Depending on the political winds, Boise City and Ada County have combined some facilities and made “working agreements.” At present those winds are erratic at best and we all pay when they turn stormy.

All we can say is, “You are doing a heckuva job Brownie!”

The difference is the GUARDIAN does it for free.

Once again the hard earned wages of citizens are funding politicos who visit Sun Valley and subject themselves to brainwashing by the Chamber while enriching the Wood River Valley economy.

It is an annual event defended by the politicos who claim, “It is a Chamber thing and we have no say in where they meet or the agenda. We feel it is important to attend.” Sadly, it has become so routine and boring even the mainstream media can’t justify sending staffers.

Just a week ago the Idaho Senate pushed a proposed constitutional amendment through in an attempt to get around the Supreme Court FRAZIER decision which reconfirmed the fact local governments must get approval of 2/3 of voters to go into long term debt. The Senate voted unanimously to approve it.

It went to the House where the GUARDIAN editor, David R. Frazier, led the debate Tuesday against passing the amendment. There was adamant vocal opposition of the bill (in support of Frazier’s position) from Rep. Raul Labrador, an Eagle attorney, but the proposal went to the floor of the House and within just over an hour it was defeated by a 36-33 vote. It required a 2/3 majority to pass.

Immediately the House passed a “compromise bill” that watered down the original proposal, calling for approval of a simple majority of citizens on some debt and eliminating the worst of the original proposal. OK, but not good.

Here’s where it got interesting. In the final minutes of the session the Senate KILLED the proposed new amendment passed the previous day by the House. While the Senators last week voted 100% in favor of the original poorly worded sweeping amendment, they ended up killing it by a –23-11 vote which was just a single vote shy of the 2/3 majority required to pass.

Bottom line–the cities and counties have to abide by the constitution and allow voters to approve long term debt PERIOD!

MORE PEOPLE POWER

–It looks like the politicos in Eagle have seen the light and now plan a bond election to fund purchase of the water company. Citizens in that Ada County town were contemplating a law suit using the FRAZIER decision of the supremes and the 2002 JUDGE COPSEY decision declaring Boise City must take a proposed police station project to the voters as ammunition.

–Over in Rexburg the city is attempting to circumvent the voters by getting a judge to declare a proposed $6 million swimming pool as “ordinary and necessary” expense for the urban renewal district. A hearing was held Monday and a judge has it under advisement.

–Nampa voters were left out of the picture when the city attempted to claim a proposed $69 million police and library project were “ordinary and necessary” urban renewal projects. The CALDWELL GUARDIAN and the BOISE GUARDIAN have both filed legal responses to that petition. A court hearing is set for April 30 before former Supreme Court Justice Linda Copple Trout at the Canyon County Courthouse. The 3rd District judges recused themselves on that case.

–Twin Falls City Councilors are treading on thin ice with a scheme to lease a parcel of city land to a finance group for 40 years, make lease payments to the lender for 20 years and own a $4 million Public Works facility when they are finished–without a vote of the citizens. That one is ripe for a legal challenge. One lawyer told them he couldn’t advise them to go ahead, so the found another one to give them the OK. Bad advice.

That constitutional amendment to make it easier for local governments to sell bonds, go into business, build pet projects, eliminate financial oversight–all at the expense of the voters–has passed the senate.

No hearings have been set in the Idaho House, but it could get pushed through in the final hours due to pressure from the cities, counties, and hospitals. It still has to pass approval of at least half the voters state wide.

It is a rotten system that allows local governments to use taxpayer dollars to fund lobbyists and their efforts to deprive us of existing constitutional rights. These people have violated the constitution for years and when the Supremes ruled in favor of the citizens, these associations now seek to change the constitution. FYI, there is no mechanism in the Idaho constitution or statutes that allows any citizen referendum to change the constitution–only the legislature has that power.

Meanwhile, Nampa, Twin Falls, and Rexburg all have multimillion dollar schemes underway to get around the requirement of asking voters for permission to go into long term debt.

Nampa aims to call a proposed police building an “urban renewal project.” In Rexburg the local politicos are going for a $6 million swimming pool without voter approval–voters have already said “no” once. In Twin the politicos are going ahead with plans to build a $4 million public works building and pay “lease payments” for 20 years, more than doubling the cost to citizens.

Perhaps the tulips will bloom, the fish will bite and the politicos will go home and leave us alone.

By CALDWELL GUARDIAN
THE GUARDIAN has determined the Canyon Commishes earnest money offer and announced purchase of the state Job Service building out by Larry Miller Ford is the result of a bidding war. The purchaseon the property has not been completed for this property nor has the illegally purchased Jerome farm property sold.

The other suitor for State property appears to be the Vallivue School District. The County Deciders have upped their offer on the Job Service Building to who knows how much more than the original $1 million. So, if the deal ever gets done we as taxpayers will be in this one for well over $2 million by the Grand Opening Day.

Nice set of circumstances for the taxpayers…a state owned property subject of a frenzy of offers and counter offers by two taxpayer supported government entities. The real estate folks have to love this deal. More of your property tax dollars get spent no matter what happens when this bidding war is over.

THE CALDWELL GUARDIAN would like to think the County Deciders would back off and let the school district have the site. The real need for license offices is in downtown Caldwell and Nampa–given the long lines at the current location serving the entire county. However, it looks like the “bully boys” at 1115 Albany are going to all let us have it their way.

By Ken Robison,
(former legislator and journalist)

Analysis of Idaho tax and budget figures over the 10 years 1997-2007 shows that millions of dollars in taxes have been shifted to individual taxpayers.

The figures also show that state support of public schools and of higher education has increased much less than the growth in state revenue. If you consider inflation and enrollment growth, there was no increase in state support for schools or colleges and universities.

● Even with property tax relief legislation passed in 2006, residential property taxes in the decade increased nearly four times as fast and more than five times as much as taxes on other kinds of property–commercial, utility and farm.

● The sales tax was increased 20 per cent, to six cents to replace $3 per $1,000 of school property taxes. While commercial and utility property received millions in property tax relief, the potential relief for homes was partly offset by further increases in assessed value.

● In the three years 2003 to 2006, total property taxes on owner-occupied homes increased by $30 million. Taxes on other residential property, rentals and second homes, increased by $32 million. Total residential taxes increased $62 million. Meanwhile, total taxes on commercial, utility and farm property went down by $45 million.

● The share of total property taxes paid by residential property increased from 45 per cent to 64 per cent from 1996 to 2006. Meanwhile, the share paid by other kinds of property fell from 45 per cent to 36 per cent.

● Over 10 years, total residential property taxes increased $310 million, 79 per cent. Total taxes paid on commercial, utility and farm property increased $72 million, 22 per cent. Total property taxes increased $382 million, 53 per cent.

● Residential property paid 81 per cent of the 10-year increase in property tax revenue. Commercial, farm and utility property paid 19 per cent of the increase.

● Revenue from taxes paid mostly by individual taxpayers, the sales tax and individual income tax, were up by $1.2 billion in the decade, 104 per cent. Total corporate income tax collections increased 55 per cent.

● More of the cost of higher education was shifted to students. Because of lean appropriations for colleges and universities, student fees increased by $79 million a year, 167 per cent. Fees increased nearly four times as fast as state support for higher education. The share of higher education costs paid by student fees increased from 20 per cent to 32 per cent.

Official state budget figures indicate that there was a large increase in support for public schools. The reality is different.

With legislative decisions, $325 million a year in state tax revenue is now being used to replace school property taxes.

This $325 million was not an increase in support for schools. It merely replaced one funding source with another.

Actual state support for schools, the state general fund appropriation plus school endowment fund money, less property tax replacement, went from $714.8 million in 1997 to $993.6 million in 2007.

With inflation a 2007 dollar is worth less than a 1997 dollar. Considering growth in enrollment, state support went from $2,914 per student to $2,878 per student, measured in 1997 dollars. In the last session, the legislature increased the appropriation for schools for fiscal year 2008. Still, figures for 1998 to 2008 will show only a slight real increase in state support.

Over 10 years, 1997-2007, basic state appropriations (the general fund budget), not counting money for property tax replacement, increased 63 per cent. State support for schools increased 39 per cent and support for colleges and universities increased 40.5 per cent.

Randy Blades, Warden of the Idaho Department of Corrections, spoke about a new contract process being worked out with a subcommittee of the Idaho Sheriffs’ Jail Standards Committee and IDOC. The new contracts will allow state inmates housed out of state to be returned to Idaho with some being placed in county jails able to comply with the specifics of the contract.

IDOC will provide case managers to the inmates that will follow them through the county jails and provide appropriate programs that can also be provided to the county sentenced inmates. IDOC will basically be a ‘footprint’ in the county jails and pay for it at $1.00 per program per inmate in addition to $45 per day four housing. The bed needs in the next five years is predicted to be around 5,000.”

THE CALDWELL GUARDIAN attended a local service club lunch on Wednesday where the guest speakers were Sheriff Chris Smith and Lt. Craig Hansen of the Canyon County Sheriffs’ Office. Their pitch was for the new jail to be built on Hwy 20/26 and a bond issue to fund what would eventually be a 2,000 bed jail facility including a medical department to serve, most if not all, inmate medical needs. Two thousand beds are to be built in several phases to be paid for with your property taxes. How did we get from the 800 bed facility at the Jerome Farm property to 2,000 beds out on Hwy 20/26? Potential profit margins renting inmate space may be the incentive.

THE GUARDIAN is concerned that our elected officials have made the decision to get into the JAIL FOR HIRE business with a “we’ll leave the light on for ya” attitude.

Canyon County has a population of 180,000 people based on best guess estimates. The average stay in the Canyon County Jail is currently 18 days. A 2,000 bed jail would give us the capacity to lockup 40,555 of our residents through this facility on an annual basis (given the 18 day average sentences we now have).

Long term debt to build this jail will require approval of voters. This monster will cost almost $40 Million a year to operate based on the $45/day the state will pay to house inmates on top of the bond issue amortization costs of around another $5-10 million a year debt service.

The key to this statewide problem is whether or not county taxpayers are willing to provide detention facilities the State legislature has failed to provide. Ada County is in the process of creating a drug and alcohol treatment center that is an absolute legally mandated responsibility of the State of Idaho.

A final set of concerns are: If Canyon and other Counties invest in long term capital projects, is the state under any obligation to honor these contracts for 30 years or the life of the bonds? Also, are local citizens willing to house the inmates who are sentenced to the state pen?