COEUR d'ALENE - Local urban renewal agencies look to have plenty of dollars to use this year for community development projects.

The Kootenai County Clerk's Office reported on Monday that more than $10 million in tax dollars will flow to the four local URAs.

"I've been asked a number of times in the last couple of years about this information, so we put it out," said Clerk Cliff Hayes. "I think it's important for every taxing district to know what the amount of taxes that are going to urban renewal are."

A total of $10,780,449 in tax dollars will go to the urban renewal agencies in Hayden, Coeur d'Alene, Post Falls and Spirit Lake, according to the Clerk's Office.

The funds will be diverted from 18 different taxing entities and be distributed to the agencies instead.

"I'm not in favor of or opposed to the concept of urban renewal," Hayes said. "It's just a matter of reporting the facts as our office sees them."

The Hayden Urban Renewal Agency will collect $470,557 in tax dollars in 2011; Lake City Development Corp. will take in $5,621,041; Post Falls Urban Renewal Agency, $4,500,329; and Spirit Lake Urban Renewal Agency, $188,522.

These amounts will only be received in full, Hayes reminded, if everyone pays all their taxes on time.

"I'm sure somebody won't pay their taxes," he said.

Urban Renewal Agencies receive tax dollars from properties within designated URA districts.

Although those tax dollars would have otherwise gone to taxing districts like fire districts, the URAs are intended to benefit communities by funding infrastructure improvements.

The Post Falls URA has plans for its windfall, said city Administrator Eric Keck.

"$4.5 million is quite a bit of money," he said, adding that the city is well informed about PFURA projects.

Some of that, Keck said, will go toward the Spencer Street improvement project, and studies for a planned highway interchange at I-90 and Greensferry Road that is still awaiting federal approval.

Most of the money, said Tom Lien, PFURA executive director, will be used to reimburse developers for roads they built and deeded to the city, with the aim that the infrastructure would bring in more businesses and jobs.

"The developers build the roads, they market the property and bring in businesses like Cabela's or Walmart or Buck Knives," Lien said, adding that those companies have provided hundreds of local jobs. "The tax revenue that comes in, as it's received, that is paid out to the developer to reimburse that cost (for roads)."

This is a faster approach, he said, than waiting for businesses to come in on their own over 15 to 20 years and the city installing roads in shorter pieces.

"It (using the URA) is structured better," he said.

The PFURA was incorporated in the mid '90s, Keck said.

The URA's six taxing districts will sunset over the next decade.

"We recognize that it is a short-term imposition upon the taxing entities, including the cities," Keck said. "In Post Falls we have a positive track record of utilizing those funds to generate new jobs and infrastructure for the future."

Tony Berns, executive director of the Lake City Development Corp., reported that Hayes' $5.6 million figure is higher than what LCDC had expected when setting its budget last August.

"It happens more often than not that we do get more, because our budgets are based off estimated levy rates and projected property valuations," Berns said. "We usually budget conservatively, with the hopes that revenues will come in higher."

LCDC had set its budget with the estimation of $4.5 million in tax increments.

It's hard to say how much more LCDC will be able to do, Berns said.

A portion of the tax dollars will go toward existing LCDC partnership obligations like the Kroc Center, the Coeur d'Alene Public Library, Midtown Placemaking, Riverstone, Mill River and Prairie Trail.

Dollars will also be used for yet-to-be-determined contributions to education corridor infrastructure, the McEuen Park initiative and the KYRO (Kootenai Youth Recreation Organization) community ice arena.

LCDC was formed in 1997. Its two districts are slated to expire in 2021 and 2027.

"Private investment will follow the wise investment of public funds," Berns stated in an email.

The Spirit Lake URA has slated its funds to go toward the city's downtown revitalization project, said URA Administrator Nancy Mabile.

It will also help renovate the pedestrian/bike path off Maine Street, Mabile said, and will fund upgrading the electrical system at a state park connected to downtown.

"It holds a lot of events that increase economic development in the city," she said.

Spokespeople for the Hayden URA could not be reached on Monday.

Hayes said reports on how much is diverted from taxing authorities this year will be available on the county website, www.kcgov.us.

It is too time consuming to cobble information about taxes diverted to URAs in past years, Hayes added.

"When I came into office, I asked that this information be prepared, like on day two," said Hayes, who took office in early January. "We're at April 4, so it took awhile, even with the current year. When I'm asked about doing years in the past, the amount of time was not warranted to figuring it out."