Owners of around 67,000 parcels in Idaho forestlands could soon have to pay more for state fire prevention services in the coming years.
The State Land Board signed off on a piece of proposed legislation from the Idaho Department of Lands earlier this week that would raise this surcharge from $40 up to $100.
The fee hasn’t changed since 2009. But Deputy Director Bill Haagenson said costs sure have.
“You can see a downtrend in our fire deficiency fund based on increasing expenditures and revenue not keeping pace with that,” he said during the board’s meeting Tuesday.
This surcharge only affects parcels of forestland with some kind of residential improvement on them. The state also doesn’t levy a fee if the land is already being taxed by another fire district.
Haagenson said the agency has had to cover some fire prevention expenses elsewhere in his budget since revenue from the fee has been flat.
He said that’s especially true in areas where cities meet Idaho’s vast wildlands.
“It affects us both on the suppression side and the preparedness side in terms of the equipment, the staff, the training, the things that we have to have ready to provide a robust initial attack response in the wildland-urban interface,” Haagenson said.
If approved by the legislature, the fee hike could raise up to $4 million annually.
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