BOISE, Idaho — From your dinner table to the Idaho Statehouse, "growth" is top of mind and the focal point of many discussions.
The rapid rate of which Idaho has grown in recent years is at the heart of significant budget decisions expected to be made this year.
Idaho Governor Brad Little laid out his proposed budget in the State of the State address to start the 2024 Legislative Session. Although legislators will still debate the proposed state budget and pass their own version of it, they're all on the same page already that something has to be done to ease Idaho's growing pains.
"Idaho's record population growth and in-migration come with both opportunities and challenges," Gov. Little said.
One of the biggest challenges are the rising property taxes. "Our budget this year includes up to $150 million in new property tax relief, on top of the hundreds of millions of property tax we've already deployed to date," he added.
That property tax relief has come in the form of the homeowner's tax exemption, tax relief paid for with the budget surplus and increased school facility funding from the state. The idea is that, with the state paying more of the school facility bills, there's less of a demand on your local taxes for that.
Speaker of the House Mike Moyle agrees with the concept, but he also has concerns. He's worried the $2 billion over the 10-year period that Gov. Little wants to spend on building schools could have the opposite effect and actually increase property taxes.
"We've got to make sure that we don't allow this to be a mechanism or excuse to raise property taxes, right? ... to go to the voter and say, 'Well, the state built the building, so we need more supplementals.' Or 'The state did this. So, we need more.' Sometimes you see that happening," Moyle stated. "You saw that last year with the property tax bill, right? We cut $370 million in property taxes. At the same time, not the schools, but just the local governments, was almost an $80 million increase."
It needs to be clarified that the total tax revenue going up doesn't necessarily mean your tax bill is going up. That's because, with the population growth, more people are putting tax money into the same pot. There's also a local budget cap of 3%. Regardless, lots of folks are still seeing their tax bills go up.
The other big growing pain the governor wants to address is transportation needs. "We all know the high rate of speed that the state of Idaho is growing. And one of the worst things you can do is get behind on your transportation."
Gov. Little wants to spend another $200 million to finish fixing dilapidated bridges in the state. He also wants to pump $50 million into the Transportation Expansion and Congestion Mitigation program to bond for another $800 million for new transportation infrastructure.
House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel is very much in favor of spending more on infrastructure but wants to make sure credit is given where it's already due. She points out that according to the White House, since the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed, about $1.6 billion in federal (not state money) has been announced for transportation projects in Idaho.
"All of that was federal money that was all due to things like the federal infrastructure act,” said Rubel. “Then he turns around in the same breath and bashes how terrible and irresponsible the federal government is. They seem pretty darn happy to get that money here. That federal money is really why we have been able to do anything in terms of repairing infrastructure."
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