City passes $34.6M budget, $930K+ in property tax relief

By Zach Hagadone
Reader Staff

The Sandpoint City Council unanimously passed a $34.6 million dollar budget for Fiscal Year 2021 and approved a budget ordinance at its meeting Sept. 2, also providing $934,757 in property tax relief for Sandpoint ratepayers.  

The 2021 budget is approximately $4.7 million less than 2020, due to completion of the Phase 2 Downtown Revitalization Project in 2020 and the scheduled expiration of the five-year voter-approved Local Option Sales Tax on Dec. 31.  

Greenlit by voters in 2016, revenues generated by the 1% LOT funded the construction of the new Cotton Barlow Stadium and gateway at War Memorial Field, as well as the recent field improvements and upcoming infrastructure work on the parking lot, lighting, boat launch and waterfront access.

The tax relief intended to benefit Sandpoint residents is provided through Idaho Gov. Brad Little’s Public Safety Grant Initiative for Cities and Counties. Under its terms, local municipalities must voluntarily opt in to participate in the program, which leverages federal coronavirus relief funds to cover local public safety personnel salaries, thus giving cities and counties the opportunity to pass along those savings to property taxpayers.  

Participating jurisdictions must agree not to increase their tax levy or use any foregone levy amount available from prior years. 

The property tax levy rate in Sandpoint for 2021 is projected at $3.78 per $1,000 of assessed property value, compared to $4.70 in 2020.

Based on a median-valued home of $359,000 with a homeowner’s exemption, the property tax savings from the prior year will be $240.28.

“The city, through good fiscal stewardship, is in a strong financial position that enables participation in this program without impacting city services,” stated Sandpoint Mayor Shelby Rognstad. “We are pleased to be able to pass along the tax relief to our property owners in Sandpoint.”