On May 20, 2025, local fire districts want to permanently raise your property taxes hundreds of dollars a year.
Is this permanent tax increase just a first step to much higher taxes?
Bonner County, Idaho — Next Tuesday, May 20, 2025, is election day, and your local fire district wants you to pay hundreds of dollars a year more in property taxes.
What’s on the ballot? The tax levies on your ballot are permanent tax increases and do not affect the current funding for these rural fire districts. Repeat; the current budget for the fire districts is NOT on the ballot. Only the huge tax increases are on the ballot. If you vote NO next Tuesday, it will not cut the funding of your fire protection district, and they will maintain their current funding level.
On an average $500,000 home, Sagle Fire wants you to pay $170 more tax a year. On the same $500,000 home, Westside Fire wants you to pay $355 more each year, and Northside Fire wants you to fork out $205 more in property tax each year.
Some of these increases mean an almost 205% tax increase to fund the fire district.
But, this might be only the beginning of tax increases.
One of the fire commissioners who voted to put this big tax increase on your ballot is also in the legislature. He is Jim Woodward. Just a few months ago, Woodward and Representative Mark Sauter, a former fire chief and professional firefighter from California sponsored a very interesting bill in the Idaho legislature that is related to our local fire districts. Their House Bill 208 passed and will allow the three fire districts that are asking for huge permanent tax increases on your home to also consolidate into one regional fire district without going before Bonner County voters.
Before Woodward’s and Sauter’s bill, in order to consolidate fire districts, public hearings and a vote at an election was required by Bonner County’s voters to approve the consolidation. With H208 in place now, fire districts can consolidate without a public hearing and without your consent.
This creates the opportunity for higher property taxes on your home in the future because in a consolidated fire district, tax levies can be approved by Sandpoint voters and apply to your home in Sagle or the Selle Valley. Right now, only your actual neighbors that live closest to you can vote to increase your taxes for fire districts.
The Bonner County Republican Central Committee is the official Bonner County organization of the Idaho Republican Party. Its 35 members are elected by Republican voters biennially in the May Republican primary election.