Boise City Council Approves 2025 Budget With Tax Increases

The combination of the need pressure plus an 18 percent increase in the Public Employees Retirement System of Idaho’s cost to pay into the state’s employee pension system was the driving force behind the decision to max out taxes, Boise Budget Manager Eric Bilimoria said throughout the budget process. Software costs for the city also rose another 16 percent as companies moved to higher-cost subscription models.

City employees will also receive a three percent pay raise, which is equal to the raises the state of Idaho gave to employees in the budget passed earlier this year.

To pay for it all, McLean proposed that the city take the full 3 percent property tax increase allowed under state code, plus collect $1.8 million in forgone taxes. The additional taxes are funds that local governments can increase that they haven’t increased in the past, as long as they reserve the right to do so at the time.

The average homeowner will see a $58 increase in their property tax bill under this budget proposal. While McLean is proposing a higher tax rate increase than last year, the actual dollar increase would be lower, due to a combination of residential property values ​​slowing their growth and a new property tax relief package Idaho passed last year to give homeowners a break.

“I think (the tax increases) are really important to be able to do the things that we need to do so that the city is ready for next year and ready for the next 1,000 people that move here,” said Councilman Jordan Morales. “I’m really grateful for this budget and I believe it sets us up for success in the years to come.”

Willits opposes new features added for internal reorganization

There were many positives in the budget for Willits.

Before the vote, she praised the investment in the Northwest Boise Fire Department and the property tax credit for child care and lamented the fact that City Council members are required to vote on the budget as a whole rather than item by item. But despite her support for many items in the budget, she voted against it over concerns about some middle-management positions that were added as part of an internal staffing shakeup proposed by the McLean administration.

This new staffing structure would add six new full-time employees to the city. The goal is to accomplish two things: reduce the number of employees reporting directly to McLean’s chief of staff Courtney Washburn and create a new Department of Organizational Effectiveness. Two new deputy chief of staff positions will be added to the mayor’s office, for a total of four, overseeing similar departmental activities and reporting directly to Washburn. Previously, all of the city’s nearly two dozen department heads were directly managed by Washburn, which city spokesperson Maria Weeg told BoiseDev was a much higher number of employees to supervise than best management practices recommend as the city has grown larger and more complex in recent years.

While two new positions are being added to the mayor’s office, this will result in a net loss of one position in the office’s total, as other positions were previously moved to other departments.

The other four new employees are a director, an administrative coordinator and two managers for the Organizational Effectiveness department. This new department will work on project management and streamlining internal processes.

Willits said she does not support using city funds to hire project management staff like the city’s and would rather use those funds to hire more police officers, for the South and Lowell pool project or to add more mental health teams to respond to residents in crisis. And because of rising pension costs through PERSI, she said those additional employees will add up over time.

“I dare to have a different voice and I believe that’s what my constituents want,” she said. “They want people who have a different opinion and who can say it calmly, honestly and with class. I believe that transparency brings accountability and the taxpayers of Boise need to know that the city is raising taxes and why it’s raising taxes and I will not vote for a budget that raises taxes on middle management.”

City Council President Colin Nash disagreed with her in comments before voting in favor of the budget, saying more staff are needed to handle the complex planning for the future.

“I would just add… that if we need staff to continue to provide us with innovative solutions like we saw today in our work session on (housing for homeless residents staying at the Red Lion) and the great proposals we saw on (swimming pools in South and Lowell), then I will defer to the administration’s judgment on how we should present those proposals to us,” Nash said.