City Council

February 8, 2021 Legislative Session The City Council of the City of Idaho Falls met in Legislative Session, Monday, February 8, 2021, in the Council Chambers in the City Annex Building located at 680 Park Avenue in Idaho Falls, Idaho at 4:00 p.m. Call to Order and Roll Call: There were present: Mayor Rebecca L. Noah Casper Councilor John Radford (via WebEx) Councilor Thomas Hally Councilor Jim Freeman (via WebEx) Councilor Jim Francis Councilor Shelly Smede Absent: Council President Michelle Ziel-Dingman Also present: Pamela Alexander, Municipal Services Director Duane Nelson, Fire Chief Robert Wright, Library Director Bear Prairie, Idaho Falls Power Director (via WebEx) Brad Cramer, Community Development Services Director (via WebEx) Bryce Johnson, Police Chief (via WebEx) Chris Fredericksen, Public Works Director (via WebEx) Josh Roos, Treasurer (via WebEx) Mark Hagedorn, Controller Carla Bruington, Executive Assistant to the Mayor (via WebEx) Dana Briggs, Economic Development Coordinator Randy Fife, City Attorney Kathy Hampton, City Clerk Mayor Casper described Operation Cupid Heart to Heart, a valentine service opportunity for the community’s elderly population. She will distribute additional information as requested. Discussion of State Legislative Proposals impacting the City of Idaho Falls and determination of City response, if any: Mayor Casper indicated several proposed legislative bills will affect Municipal Services as well as other General Fund departments. She noted the State website has a bill tracker feature. This tracker feature details the text of the bill, the status of the bill, and who sponsored the bill. Mayor Casper briefly reviewed the following House Bills (HB) and Senate Bills (SB), including support or opposition from the Association of Idaho Cities (AIC), with general comments throughout: Disaster Declarations, Boards of Health, City Orders/Health and others, Eminent Domain – Limitation/Urban Renewal, Electronic Notices (Mayor Casper stated this bill passed the House State Affairs Committee in spite of heavy opposition from the newspaper industry; Director Cramer noted this will not affect the mailing of notices for Local Land Use items; and Director Alexander stated $27,792 was paid to the Post Register in the previous year for legal notices), Peace Officer Standards Training (POST) Funding – Liquor Fund, Psychoactive Drugs – Constitutional Amendment (brief discussion followed regarding amendments to the Constitution, Councilor Radford noted small doses of psychoactive drugs may be U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved in the future for specific ailments/issues), City Advisory Ballot, Libraries/Library Boards (Director Wright believes this is to separate Libraries from politics, he requested support from the Mayor and the elected officials), Liquor Licensing 1  February 8, 2021 Legislative Session (liquor licenses are currently issued based on population, Mayor Casper stated this is problematic economically for small cities), Water Quality, Heavy Trucks, Imagine Idaho Broadband (Mayor Casper believes this mirrors electricity and has become a necessity), Monuments and Memorials – Legislative Approval, Bond Levy Elections/Disclosures, Municipalities and Bankruptcy, Business Licensing (brief discussion followed regarding those individuals under 18 years old who may have a City license), Impact Fees, Local Government – Uniform Accounting (Mr. Hagedorn believes this a transparency issue versus an accounting standard, and it would not affect the audit although it would be more complicated; Director Alexander believes this is a trend within government), and Property Taxes/Taxing District Budgets (Mayor Casper stated this would put a cap on incoming monies, and would diminish the ability to meet the needs that are incurred with new growth. She briefly reviewed AIC proposals. She noted property taxes are only one (1) leg of the stool along with sales tax and income tax. Mr. Hagedorn stated this bill would be financially crippling to the City, budget cuts would have to occur each year, it would be necessary to take the foregone money, and Idaho does not have a Local Option Sales Tax. Discussion followed including preferred communication to the State legislators.). There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 5:54 p.m. s/ Kathy Hampton s/ Rebecca L. Noah Casper Kathy Hampton, City Clerk Rebecca L. Noah Casper, Mayor 2