City Government
Idaho Supremes Put Damper On Storm Drain “Fee,”Affirm GUARDIAN Assertion
November 7, 2011 
Idaho’s Supreme Court ruled Monday that Lewiston overstepped its constitutional authority when the city levied a mandatory “fee” which is really a tax.
The GUARDIANS (both Boise and Caldwell) were on the scam April 17 when we posted a sarcastic ANALYSIS of the attempt by Nampa’s Team Tom (Mayor Tom Dale) to slip a tax past citizens disguised as a “fee.” We look for the fee to be dropped due to its unconstitutionality. We also anticipate plenty of lobbying to get legislation passed to allow the hidden tax. Nampa lawyers will argue the case is different because it involoves an existing system expansion.
Nampa is calling its tax a “fee” that is operated as an enterprise fund–like a city run business.
Here is what the Supremes had to say:
“This Court finds that the first step of the analysis leads to the conclusion that the assessment is a tax, not a regulatory fee. As per the second step, it is clear that the revenue to be
collected from the stormwater utility fee has no rational relationship to a regulatory purpose because the stormwater fee is a tax. The stormwater fee is used to generate funds for the nonregulatory function of repairing, maintaining, and expanding the City’s preexisting stormwater system and streets under Brewster. Ordinance 4512 is, therefore, an unauthorized tax intended to free-up the City’s general revenues. It is for the Idaho Legislature to authorize such a tax.
The judgment of the district court is affirmed with costs awarded to the Entities.”
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Comments & Discussion
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Nov 7, 2011, 10:44 pm
Even worse, they billed this fee under a new account number instead of tacking it on to our existing municipal utility bill. I wondered how much of my $6 fee was wasted in the billing/accounting/collection process. It was the dumbest thing I think the city has ever done.
Nov 8, 2011, 2:01 am
A point of clarification- it looks like this was actually involving the city of Lewiston and its’ “taxing” of other government agencies. The Nampa fee may fall under this ruling, but it was not specifically mentioned in the ruling. .
Here the background ruling Nampa looked at before implementing their fee. http://www.cityofnampa.us/stormwater/media/281/mtg%204%20handouts.pdf
EDITOR NOTE–Clancy, you are correct as usual. We have added a line of clarification.
Nov 8, 2011, 6:03 am
This needs to be remembered when in 2 years Tom Dale will be up for re-election.
Nov 8, 2011, 11:23 am
The key wording here is that the fee is used to add onto existing stormwater systems and once the two connect this becomes an tax.
Meanwhile, I think Mayor Dale in Nampa is in a huddle with the Nampa City Attorney Terry White over this decision.