City of Boise Looking For Feedback On 2022 Budget

BOISE, ID — The Boise City Council will take up the Fiscal Year 2022 budget at the upcoming meeting on Tuesday, July 20.

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Prior to the meeting, city officials are taking citizen's comments and suggestions to be included in the presentation.

Highlights of the proposed budget include:

• Making investments that promote economic recovery
• Advancement of community goals and priorities including:
  • affordable housing
  • transportation options
  • climate change
  • public safety; and
  • economic development

Revenues

General government services (e.g., police, fire, parks, and libraries) are supported primarily through taxes and user fees, including property tax, sales tax, and development fees. For FY 2022, revenue growth is anticipated in most categories, as the economy begins to recover from the impacts of the pandemic. Highlights include:

• To keep up with increasing costs, due mainly to public safety and ongoing community growth, property tax includes a 3% budget increase.
  • The estimated cost of the city’s 3% property tax increase for the average-priced home in Boise is approximately $42.
• The sales tax estimate has been increased from the FY 2021 adopted budget to reflect the actual growth of statewide sales tax collection, which was not as drastic as anticipated a year ago (but is impacted by 2020 legislation limiting year-over-year growth).
• Development fee revenues are also budgeted to increase as we continue to see an increase in building activity.

Demand for Services

The City of Boise prides itself on offering our residents high-quality services. Over the past several years, Boise has seen a tremendous amount of growth that has had a significant impact on city services.
• April 2021 marked 5-year highs in both applications received and project valuations for our Planning and Development Services department
• Our cherished outdoor spaces have seen major increases in usage, including 3x traffic on the Ridge to Rivers Trails in the Boise Foothills
  • With the extra usage in the Foothills, there has been 121% more Fire Department time spent on foothills rescues between 2017 and 2020.
• 911 call increases have required shift in staffing from community policing assignments
• 20% growth in flights/seats over 2019 projected in next 6 months
To ensure we are providing our residents with the services they count on the city for, the FY 2022 Proposed Budget includes some staffing increases in key areas, particularly in the Police and support departments (e.g., Information Technology, Legal, Human Resources, and Finance). Increases are attributable to several factors, including:

• In recent years, the Police Department, in response to expanding community needs, have had to reposition resources from areas throughout the department (e.g., investigations) to patrol services in order respond to calls for service. This budget includes staff adjustments to begin addressing staffing needs in both patrol and non-patrol units
• The rate of position growth across the City has not kept up with population growth in the Treasure Valley
• Staffing for support department core functions (Finance, IT, HR, Legal) has not kept up with growth in external operations

Capital Projects Overview

The annual capital budget and five-year capital improvement plan (CIP) provide a framework for the city’s capital investments. As part of capital budget development, the city must prioritize how to allocate limited resources over a number of competing needs.
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Budget Transparency

Earlier this year, the City launched an online budget platform, showing how current and past year budgets are allocated across programs and revenue/expense types. This platform is updated monthly, and is a good way to learn more about how resources are allocated at the City of Boise.

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