COEUR d’ALENE — Kootenai County commissioners approved a $96 million budget for the 2017 fiscal year Wednesday night, which includes a 3 percent property tax increase, the highest increase allowed by the state.

The budget was formally adopted by a 2-1 vote. Commissioner David Stewart was against the budget — a record high for the county — while commissioners Dan Green and Marc Eberlein were both in favor.

Nearly 250 people were in attendance at the public hearing, a sizable portion being county employees, namely from the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office.

A vote was made after two hours of public speaking — 23 different people stepped to the lecturn, the overwhelming majority being against the budget — and an hour of deliberation.

Kootenai County Clerk Jim Brannon began the hearing by presenting the budget on a projector screen while attendees received information packets. More than $21 million of the budget will be spent on capital projects in the coming year, including a $12 million jail expansion.

A $1.5 million hike in the county’s cost of health insurance, however, was a major factor in the increase. To balance the budget, county employees will share the cost of health insurance increase. The county would pay $865,580 and more than 750 employees making up the other $660,780.

The tax hike coupled with county employees underpaid by 18-40 percent, per a study done by current and previous boards of commissioners, will add financial strain according to Stewart, one that could lead to a mass exodus.

“This will set county employees back financially to a point that is unprecedented,” Stewart said. “I have received word that as many as 15 sworn deputies will be leaving the sheriff’s office and move to neighboring departments with higher wages and better benefits.”

Former county commissioner Gus Johnson was the first of the 23 public speakers, a demographic that ranged from mayors and county employees to concerned citizens.

Johnson believes the employees weren’t put first in this scenario.

“I have never seen this room this full for a budget meeting the six years I was here,” Johnson said. “We’d be lucky to get all of the elected officials to show up. But now it seems the (commissioners) have changed the scenario. Is it because you’re not going to be here anymore, commissioner Green? I don’t know what that is, but it’s sure foreign to me to see where employees were not put first. It’s always been put first.”

Good-natured ribbing and not-so-friendly jabs were taken at the commissioners from some of the speakers, which evoked laughter from the anti-budget crowd.

Commissioner Green understood the discontent of the property tax increase.

“We all have to share in this pain,” Green said. “That was a big pill to swallow personally, but I don’t know what else we could do. But we’re putting a dent in our fund balance”