HAYDEN — A town hall meeting to discuss Hayden’s proposed levy rate override is scheduled for Aug. 28 at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.

At its June 26 meeting, the Hayden City Council approved moving forward with the proposal to hike the city’s assessed value levy rate. Brett Boyer, Hayden’s city administrator, said the city will request an override that would increase the levy rate from $1.23 per $1,000 of assessed value to $2.42 per $1,000.

For example, a homeowner with $225,000 in taxable assessed value, less the $100,000 homeowners exemption, would see annual costs rise from $153.75 to $325, Boyer said. That’s an annual increase of $171.25.

City voters will approve or deny the increase at the ballot box on Nov. 6. The measure needs 60 percent approval for passage.

The mayor and council had previously identified roads and law enforcement as two areas in need of additional funding. The city now budgets $350,000 for road maintenance but needs $980,000 annually to maintain good road conditions, Boyer said.

“This problem has been ongoing and will only become worse with time,” he said.

The city also wants to bring its law enforcement coverage up to “adequate service levels,” Boyer said. The city contracts with the county for four deputies to cover the city as their primary patrol area, said Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Det. Dennis Stinebaugh.

“This provides them with one dedicated person 24/7 barring any calls outside of the city they may need to respond to,” as well as training or time off, Stinebaugh said.

When a dedicated patrol officer is not available, “the residents of the city still receive 24/7 coverage like any other county resident,” Stinebaugh said.

The city wants to bring the number of officers up to eight to give Hayden residents “better response times and coverage of all hours of the day,” Boyer said.

Complete statistics for crime rates in Hayden aren’t immediately available, Stinebaugh told The Press. However, he said there had been a 28 percent increase in crimes reported at the Walmart property in Hayden. The 474 calls there over the last year include range from “animal abuse, found children, disorderly people, domestics, malicious injury to property, accidents, thefts, burglaries” and more, Stinebaugh said.

“This override will provide the needed funding for road maintenance and law enforcement while maintaining some of the lowest property taxes in our area,” Boyer said.

The city must submit its ballot language to the county by Sept. 7. A second town hall will be scheduled for sometime in September or early October, Boyer explained, and others may be added if needed.

For more information contact the city at 208-772-4411 or go to: cityofhaydenid.us