COEUR d'ALENE — With $15.5 million to spend on discretionary projects, including facility upgrades, Kootenai County commissioners are bantering and prioritizing numerous projects.

With the hefty fund balance, commissioners are in the early stages of prioritizing needs to address issues without raising taxes.

"I'm in favor of eliminating a fractured campus and consolidating programs," said Commissioner Dan Green, referring to how he's prioritizing wish-list items.

Several county departments — including elections, part of the court system and the Extension office — are located off the main campus.

According to a 2012 facilities report, the county spends about $500,000 per year due to off-campus locations.

While commissioners have started to discuss and prioritize facility improvements, few final decisions have been made.

"Our fund balance is very healthy, so Kootenai County is in an enviable position," Green said. "But just because we have it doesn't mean that we have to spend it."

The project with the most momentum is expanding and remodeling the DMV and veterans office in Post Falls. A total of $60,000 had been dedicated toward architect work for the project.

The DMV side is currently 1,500 square feet and the veterans office 1,386. When completed, the entire building will be 4,300 square feet. The project will also include additional parking.

Commissioners favor the project in hopes it will alleviate crowding at the DMV in Coeur d'Alene on the main campus.

"Right now there's people who drive to Kellogg to the DMV because there isn't as long of a wait," Commissioner Marc Eberlein said.

Eberlein floated the idea of building a new pod of hard cells to house between 75 and 125 felons to help address jail overcrowding. A rough estimated cost is $12 million.

"One of our most pressing needs today is hard cells at the jail," Eberlein said, adding the county currently transports some inmates to other facilities in the region. "It's something that I'd like to take a look at, especially if we can fund it out of pocket. Maybe it could get us through another 10 years."

Commissioners said there will be a lot more discussions on a possible jail expansion, especially since it has been a tough sell with voters.

Sheriff Ben Wolfinger said any expansion would come with the need for additional staff and operating expenses, so that should be factored into such decisions. He encouraged commissioners to make expansion decisions with an eye toward the future.

He said the jail itself was "built to a dollar amount and not a need."

Another project involving the jail that earned unanimous support from the board is remodeling the evidence storage facility and work release center. The board tentatively agreed to set aside $300,000 for the project.

"The working conditions where the sheriff's office houses drugs, weapons and cash are horrible," said Commissioner David Stewart, adding he would like to see the project on a fast track. "The smell of drugs permeates throughout the building."

Commissioners said they also want to continue to explore the idea of shared parking with the city of Coeur d'Alene across Northwest Boulevard near Memorial Field. The concept includes below-grade parking so it's not an eyesore from the busy road, and a pedestrian underpass under Northwest Boulevard.

"I like the idea of preserving our real estate (on the main campus)," Stewart said.

Another possible project includes moving the Extension office from Third Street to a new pole barn building at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds, creating more space for the Elections Department on Third. Stewart said the project is estimated to cost $250,000.

Ideas moved to the bottom of the wish list included remodeling the law library in the lower floor of the Justice Building so it can be used as a courtroom, moving juvenile diversion and the prosecutor's office to the Juvenile Justice Center and remodeling the HVAC system of the justice building.

Commissioners said giving some of the fund balance back to the taxpayers isn't off the table.

"It is always a possibility but would be very difficult to distribute equitably," Green said. "The fund balance has built up over many years so some citizens have been helping build the fund balance for years where others that have not lived here as long would have contributed less.

"I think another way to give back (to the taxpayers) is to lower tax collections."

Green said previous boards did not take a tax increase three out of four years and the current board did not take a tax increase this year either — "to some extent because of the fund balances."