Voters reject local taxes, levy

This story has been edited to correct the voting margin for Ponderay's local option sales tax.

A trio of local ballot measures came up short in Tuesday’s election. 

With all votes counted, both Sandpoint and Ponderay’s local option sales taxes neared 50% in favor but failed to reach the 60% majority needed to pass. West Bonner County School District’s one-year supplemental levy failed narrowly by a margin of just 411 votes. 

After voters turned down the $1.13 million levy that Trustee Paul Turco once described as “bare bones,” WBCSD is left with a persistent budget crunch and few options for recourse. 

“We asked for what we needed,” Superintendent Kim Spacek said of the levy. “We still need those items.” 

The levy would have cost residents $23 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value for its one-year duration and funded extracurricular and cocurricular activities, transportation and the district’s child nutrition program. Tuesday’s outcome marks the third consecutive occasion in two years voters have rejected a levy for the district. 

WBCSD has recently been fundraising to support its core needs. Spacek recognized, however, that model is not a sustainable option. 

“That cannot be a long-term fix for funding,” he said of fundraising. “It’s a challenge to continue to do that.” 

Spacek said WBCSD trustees are working to promote legislation that would change Idaho’s laws regulating public school funding, which some consider to disfavor small, rural school districts. 

He added that a May 2025 levy is “on the table,” and that he plans to focus on the district’s immediate needs to provide the best educational opportunities he can for students. 

“However you look at it, this is the community’s school system,” said Spacek. 

Sandpoint’s 1% local option sales tax — which aimed to create a 25-year funding model for maintenance and repair of roads, alleyways and pathways — received 50.08% of votes in favor and 49.92% against, causing the measure to fall short of the 60% mark needed for passage. 

“There is no better way for elected officials to understand the priorities or needs of our residents,” Sandpoint Mayor Jeremy Grimm said of the vote. “Over the next few months, I will discuss the subject with the City Council and we will determine through survey and outreach to our residents whether to bring the subject back to the voters on a future ballot measure.” 

Grimm, who approached Sandpoint City Council with the idea for the measure in August, said city staff will work to improve Sandpoint’s roads with the resources it has available. 

“In the interim, with a 23% increase in health insurance cost for employees this year, the city will continue to be strained to address our backlog of road deficiencies,” said Grimm. “We will do our best to allocate our available funding to address the most significant road failures and continue pothole repair throughout town.” 

Ponderay’s 1% local option tax, which aimed to fund ongoing initiatives in the town for the next 10 years, fell 49.62% to 50.38% Tuesday. 

“It’s certainly a disappointment,” Ponderay Mayor Steve Geiger said. “It puts the brakes on a lot of great projects for a while.”

The proposed tax was brought forth by Ponderay City Council to replace its existing local option tax, which expires at the end of 2024. If approved, the tax would have supported a project to improve pedestrian access to the shore of Lake Pend Oreille and helped develop a Field of Dreams endowment fund to support maintenance at the sports complex in perpetuity. 

Now, both projects are at risk of stalling; according to Geiger, Ponderay could struggle to pursue grants without the funds needed to meet match requirements. 

“We have to go back to the drawing board and figure it out,” said Geiger. 

Voter turnout in Bonner County hit an all-time high Tuesday and has ticked upward steadily in recent elections with presidential candidates on the ballot. 86.63% of registered voters in Bonner County made their voice heard Tuesday — up from 84.02% and 80.67% in 2020 and 2016, respectively. 

Based on a July 2023 U.S. Census Bureau population estimate, 70.75% of Bonner County residents 18 or older voted in the Nov. 5 election.