City residents' taxes must go to city streets

The Independent Highway District intends to withhold approximately $140,000 from the city of Sandpoint the remainder of this fiscal year and approximately $370,000 next year and every year thereafter. These taxes are collected exclusively from residents of Sandpoint. The city’s street department uses the money to plow and maintain the streets. As many of you recall, a number of years ago Sandpoint wanted to dissolve IHD because of the poor job they did on the city streets.

IHD and the city have a long-standing legal agreement, called a joint powers agreement, which requires IHD to turn this tax money over to the city for street work. After jointly operating for more than 10 years under the agreements, IHD unilaterally notified the city in July that it had no intention of continuing to meet its obligations.

The city’s only real option was to promptly ask the court for relief, which it did by filing suit.

The city is seeking an order requiring IHD to abide by agreements it made, and forward the funds it is unlawfully withholding from the city. The city is also asking the court to correct IHD’s mistaken notion that somehow its agreements with the city violate the Idaho Constitution or Idaho law.

The agreements were reached after multiple trips to the Idaho Supreme Court. It is unlikely that after all that litigation, the two parties and their attorneys somehow entered into unlawful agreements (as IHD’s new attorney, David Wynkoop of Meridian, now asserts).

Moreover, as part of the agreements, the city agreed to drop its pursuit of dissolving IHD, which at that time was operating only in Sandpoint and was a realistic option for the city. IHD benefited greatly from its continued existence, and now that the city cannot dissolve IHD, the highway district wishes to abandon the bargain it struck with the city.

Taxpayers should be able to have some level of confidence that the taxes they are assessed for street maintenance in the city will be going for just that — and not to hire expensive attorneys from southern Idaho (which, based on IHD’s preliminary budget, is where they plan to spend a lot of money in the coming year).

IHD needs to own up to its legal agreements and obligations to Sandpoint residents and all who drive on its streets.

• Marsha Ogilvie is mayor of the city of Sandpoint.