City adopts preliminary budget

SANDPOINT — The City Council formally adopted a $31.7 million preliminary 2015-2016 budget at its regular meeting Wednesday evening.

The budget amount decreased by $557,000 from the previous year, according to City Treasurer Shannon Syth, including a 3.7 percent drop in the general fund, which includes the proposed addition of a new city administrator position. Compen-sation for the job starts at about $98,000 per year, based on a 40-hour work week.

One reduction was due to the elimination of the city’s street light fund. A small fee previously charged to customers on their utility bill in several Idaho cities, including Sandpoint, was questioned by a Kootenai County resident, who argued that the fee was actually a disguised tax that should be a general fund item. That modest fee has since been removed from city utility bills.

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