The 2018 Boise City budget was $217,780,709. The total dollar amount cited in this article is $70,685. An alternative conclusion could be “Conservative think tank finds that 99.97% of Boise City spending is reasonable.”

Raw numbers can be used to deliberately mislead if they are not presented in context, which is why I appreciate the editor’s title of this posting.

“70% pays solely for City staff wages and benefits which show $149,324,764 in the 2018 budget”

Two free cars for each employee from the looks of all the city cars clogging our roads

I dont know that it was written to enrage folks. Maybe I am desensitized or something, but it makes me simply shake my head. Only on page 50 though so maybe that will change.

I tend to view this document as pretty factual with a libertarian stance. I do not appreciate being taxed so that the north end can become more affluent, but whenever I say something in conversation…all I get are funny looks and a quick conversation change from the recipients. Ive learned to mostly keep my mouth shut, or slowly breech the topic and turn it into a joke.

For some funny reason, pointing these things out to people who believe otherwise marks you as the orphaned red headed step child. Sort of like a hot potato, no one wishes to actually think about taxation without representation.

If people want to give their own money freely, more power to them. But they should not expect my money without my permission, and doubly so to build some stupid art exhibit of which I will not benefit from. Personally, I give my charity to the homeless shelters so each time some stupid north-ender forces me to pay for their desires with tax money, I give less to the homeless because I only have so much. Its not really enraging, its just the way things are. I wish more people could understand it and then let me be charitable to those I wish.

I understand what the city is attempting to do with all of these grants and whatnot, I just wish they would use their own money instead of forcing me to pay for it.

On page 130 now.

Still not enraged but I do have something positive to say. I really like how this document presents the arguments in a way that I haven’t necessarily been able to vocalize before.

Take the section on Parks and Rec; golf and ice rinks. The city collects money from me via taxes, then it collects money from me again via admission, and presumably collects money from me again via sales tax on that admission or food or whatever. Thats a 3x tax that really adds up. More on the negative side now…it is interesting how double or triple taxing apparently is normal; the section on CCDC and the city.

In addition, the city planners really kind of suck according to this document; chronically under-budgeting and signing contracts that are…well indicative of what happened between this country and China, always 1 sided and thus benefiting really only 1 party. Weak leaders I think. So obviously this is not a unique situation to The City of Boise; its obviously how things work.

Lets say the city partners with a development company who wants to develop a lot that borders your property. You don’t get a say in who develops this, but the city does via its incentives and subsidies, and you don’t get a say as to what is developed there even though it directly impacts you, and then the topic of easements for accessibility come up which you also don’t get a say in even though they steal your private property to accomplish it. I have read so many stories of how this city, via its partnerships, bullies private land owners into submission…and for what?

There is something like this brewing for the folks on Cole and Fairview; the developer wants to put in a huge car-wash and low income housing (both subsidized by the city presumably indefinitely), and the city wants to plant pedestrian access paths through private property so that people can more easily wash their cars or I guess more easily visit their new neighbors?

The folks that live out there voiced their opposition loudly to the city and to the developer; nothing changed. I have to say, even though this is really sort of mean…I am glad I dont live there. Never mind that this section of town doesnt need another car wash, can you imagine the noise the darn thing would kick up? And nothing against low income housing, but…Fairview and Cole is already congested; can you imagine hundreds of more cars trying to get out of a crowded lot onto those crowded roads? Also some of those older houses are directly connected to this development area, so imagine their excitement in anticipation of a huge car wash and tons more cars. And for their trouble, these homeowners will get to pay an increased property tax until they are taxed out of Boise.

All of this, as I understand the problem out there, doesnt even compare to the first problem; that lot was under last will and testament to be and always be either a school or a park. The city did some fancy foot work….and BOOM a government subsidized carwash rose from it. I am sure glad our weak leaders are there protecting the interests of our citizens. The funny thing is, having read this document, I think I now understand that it doesnt matter if I dont live in one of these troubled areas…I still end up paying for it anyway.

So I guess what I am saying is, it seems business as usual…which is why I offer nothing more than a shaking of my head.

If we think that Bieter in a dress woman is going to solve it, ha ha, she is going to make it 3 times worse. But hey, why break with tradition in terms of the 3x.

Deep Midnight: You may want to read this. Betsy Russell is one of the most respected journalists covering the legislature. https://www.spokesman.com/blogs/boise/2016/jul/13/idaho-growing-extravagantly-compared-other-states-experts-say-no/

Representative Steve Berch, your comment (undoubtedly well-intentioned) is using incorrect numbers.

First, no matter what the city’s budget was in 2018, the city spent $409 million. But this report, written by IFF and SMART Boise, is primarily focused on spending in 2019. For the current fiscal year, spending is projected to be $521 million. These figures are listed in the introduction of the report, and the city budget documents that provide these figures are referenced in the endnotes. There are even hyperlinks in the document that take readers straight to the source of this information.

Second, our report does not just cover $70,685 of spending. Our report covers over $144 million used by the city on various projects, a much larger chunk of city spending than your comment gives us credit for.

If you would like to read the whole report and understand our concern with how the city is using tax dollars, please download a copy at http://smartboise.org/.

Though I hope unintentional, I have written this comment with the purpose of stopping the spread of false numbers.

To give credit to the worth of my comment, I am the author of the report.

Mr. Berch. I hope your cavalier attitude toward waste doesn’t extend to the state budget.

I agree with Rod- anything coming from the IFF folks is suspect.

Ms Atkinson, your comment of Mr Berch using “incorrect numbers” is incorrect and too quick on your draw.
While I am not typing for him, but his numbers are simply ADDING UP what the Guardian has posted in the original article just exactly what Berch posted, $70,685 “cited in this article”. Pretty easy to read and see that solid explanation.

While the #’s may be accurate, context is needed and IFF’s bias agenda defies any serious consideration.

As mentioned above, the bulk of the city budget is for police and fire. Does IFF question why Chief Bones has to travel to Montana to attend an FBI Association bi-annual conference, for minimal actual hours in any kind of meaningful session? No.
Is the report full of all the other BPD and BFD frivolous spending? Is there a new BFD jet boat in the report? Is the city’s total cost of the Garth Brooks concert reported?
What’s the current cost of the BPD MRAP? Any thing about the excessive salaries/pensions/healthcare for fire employees hanging out at the station?

Small grants to various arts commission projects are important to some people- I couldn’t give a rat, but I do know it makes for a better community for everyone; certainly not a budgetary crisis, though.

As to the report– why does someone have to fall on the information sword and give IFF personal information to get this magnificent report?
Zip Code??? doing too much data mining over there at IFF- for anti-government principles they sure want to be just like ‘big brother’.
Will we now be interrogated as to party affiliation for their next report?
Transparency or control freaks????

Four of the five ‘conclusions’ of the report have NOTHING to do with city budget waste. The city can’t control the whole housing supply & demand of the Boise Valley.

Will there now be a SMART Twin Falls?
A SMART Coeur d’Alene?
It’s all a ridiculous agenda; but thanks for the research!

Smart and IFF/TeaParty are not words I would put together in any report.

“Reasonable, limited government”?
How about if IFF accepts the ballots of the people, instead of filing a lawsuit to stop the will of the people???? (just because IFF doesn’t agree with the majority of Idahoans)

Idaho Tea Party and IFF are filled with characters like Rep Phil Hart (thief of public resources), and Rep Heather Scott (confederate flag fan) — suspect nut-jobs at best!

This report is simply to tell IFF followers, “Look, we did something. Now we need your money to do something else.”

IF the IFF had their way the whole city of Boise budget would be $1,000, and that “would come from the sky to be spent on nothing”—
“We don’t need no stinking government.”

Toward the Editors Note: my apologies.

Editor please consider:
1) Your blog is powerful and the local government and local MSM would like to shut it down.
2) They are unable to shut it down under the current system of laws.
3) Perhaps they are in effect shutting it down by clogging it up with long rambling manifesto postings buy people they’ve assigned to dominate the threads.

^^ Hilarious and sad at the same time.

oh boy.
I struggle to get through the whole report.

Is IFF correct?
from the report: “This department receives one cent from every tax dollar the city collects”

From the city (link provided by the report):
“1 cent of every City of Boise general fund tax dollar is dedicated to Department of Arts & History budget”

Hello IFF!
There is a difference between ‘every dollar collected’ and ‘every dollar in the general fund’.

When THAT is the lead issue for critique, and it is skewed, I find it tough to read the rest.

Several of the mentioned art projects funded by the city are in the VISTA neighborhood. Art on the bus stops. Trees donated to Vista homeowners…. Perhaps the VNA people here could comment on those projects, since they are frequent readers here.
As in, WHO applied for all those (frivolous) grants?http://vnaboise.org/projects/grant-application/
NO ART FOR VISTA! – so says IFF.

Or, $4/person per year for city art? Okay. I’d pay that to go to an art museum. So, now, I don’t have to go to a museum to see the pretty things in town. That is a ‘collective’ admission charge to see art instead of a sterile city.
Same for the parks, etc listed.

The report even wants to diminish the new Bandshell efforts in Julia Davis park.
Wow! Bashing on the Bandshell.

Bottom line, IFF is in favor of the least possible government– an extreme political opinion. Extreme and unrealistic.
Yet, apparently the Boise police force is doing perfectly fine. I wouldn’t want to live in “Wayne’s City”.

Running a decent city is a tough job. Granted, the City does waste a lot of tax dollars.
WE give, they will spend it!!!!
But there is a term of “material and important”. Let’s focus on the big picture, or in this case at least focus on the process and benefits of the many expenses. To just say, $5,000 to XYZ doesn’t help anyone.

Maybe Wayne Hoffman could do a better job than the Mayor. Considering their salaries are about the same, their current output should be comparable, right? “Mayor of a major city” and then “Wayne’s job”; getting money from Tea Party fans. Wayne gets about $120,000 a year + pension. THAT Is money that reduces our state tax coffers. And I would argue IFF is wasting a lot of money on Wayne Hoffman’s salary- at taxpayer’s expense.

Other than the fire bond, and money for police cars nothing is mentioned about Boise Fire or Boise Police in a 150+ pages.
The two biggest departments in the city get ‘a free pass’????????

But thanks for the list of expenses.
I can’t wait to see the SMART ACHD report. 🙂

It’s hilarious to see that IFF accepts bitcoin and cryptocurrency for donations; considering in 2008 and 2010 their supporters promoted resurrecting the Gold Standard as an Idaho Party Platform.
Credible?
Two Thumbs down.