COEUR d'ALENE - The Kootenai County commissioners have an unusual decision ahead.

The officials have set a September date to deliberate on the three local improvement districts approved by East Side Highway District last year, which garnered enough written opposition to warrant county review.

The review has been a long-time coming, as many property owners have spoken out this past year against the LIDs, which would help fund overlays the highway district calls essential.

"It's been a long ride," observed Jimmie Dorsey, East Side Highway District commissioner.

What's tricky, however, is that the county commissioners don't have a clear example of how to tread, said John Cafferty, county lead attorney.

As far as his digging has shown, no county in Idaho history has ever reviewed a district's LID before, Cafferty said.

"I can't say unequivocally that is has never happened," Cafferty said, but added that the Idaho Association of Counties and additional research hasn't turned up any precedent.

That adds a little pressure, admitted county Commissioner Jai Nelson.

"We're going to be the test case for this process," she said. "That always puts a little greater burden on the hearing body."

The commissioners, who will meet as an appellate body, will be meticulous in the review, Nelson said.

The officials are charged with choosing to reject, modify or approve the LIDs, according to state statute. They must analyze the LIDs' necessity or desirability, how they relate to residents' health and welfare, and their financial impact.

Each commissioner will review transcripts from April hearings on all three LIDs, Nelson said.

No one will give testimony before the commissioners, she added, unless the officials ask for a clarification.

"This is not a hearing," she said. "This is just an appeal review."

The commissioners' review is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Sept. 14 at the county Administration Building.

The proposed LIDs would bring in half a million dollars to match federal funding for an overlay on Sunnyside Road in Coeur d'Alene, and overlays on Burma and O'Gara roads in Harrison.

The LIDs would be paid into by more than 600 benefiting property owners, who have said they would pay between hundreds to thousands of dollars.

The district is eager to hear the commissioners' decision, Dorsey said.

If the LIDs are not approved, he said, the district will have to provide the match dollars from its own budget.

"We'd be unable to do any capital improvement projects for three to five years, which is unfair for everybody who uses our roads," he said.

The overlay on Sunnyside Road is already finished, Dorsey confirmed. Work on the Burma and O'Gara overlays is scheduled for later in the summer.

Neighbors also anticipate the commissioners' decision, said Lorna Casey-Kaiser, who has organized protests against the funding mechanisms.

"If it passes, it could set a very bad precedent," said Casey-Kaiser, who lost a race for East Side commissioner this year.

If the commissioners approve the LIDs, she added, residents might ask the newly elected highway commissioners to do away with the mechanisms.

"A lot of that might fall on them," she said.

Chris Fillios, a commissioner-elect at East Side, said he expects the highway commissioners will revisit the LIDs no matter what the county officials decide.

"I'd like to see us try to find the money within the existing budget, and to do away with these three LIDs, if possible," he said.