Homeowners in Ada County can expect to see their county share of property taxes go up by 2.9% starting in October.
Ada County Commissioners this week approved a $355.1 million budget, which is down nearly $2 million from the current spending plan.
That includes a 2.9% bump in property taxes and staff raises of up to 4%.
Commissioner Ryan Davidson said county department heads had asked for many new employees.
“Which were rejected during the budget deliberations as we analyzed that. So, again, that’s helping to keep our costs down by really scrutinizing every request,” Davidson said.
In addition to keeping costs down, Commissioner Rod Beck said Ada County continues to shoulder underfunded expenses on behalf of the state, like housing convicted inmates at the county jail.
“We have anywhere from 40-150 state prisoners and, according to the [Idaho Sheriffs’ Association], it costs $147 a day for those prisoners and the state pays the county $75. That has to be made up with property taxes,” Beck said.
Nearly half of the county’s budget goes to public safety including the sheriff’s office and emergency services. Sixty five percent of the entire budget pays for personnel.
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