By BRIAN WALKER

Staff Writer

COEUR d'ALENE — A recall effort in Dalton Gardens and funding proposals in four school districts are carrying early voter momentum into Tuesday's election.

Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Early voting at the Kootenai County Elections Office ended on Friday.

"There’s a good deal of interest in each of the ballot items this election, but the Dalton Gardens recall election seems to have generated the highest voter turnout thus far," said Judd Wilson, the county's elections manager.

Wilson said as of early Friday afternoon, the county had received 1,601 absentee ballots, with 191 of those from Dalton Gardens voters. The county had seen 560 voters cast an early vote at the elections office, with 107 of those from Dalton Gardens.

"Those 298 early and mail-out Dalton Gardens voters alone constitute an 18-percent voter turnout for Dalton Gardens, which is high considering that voter turnout for March elections is usually in the low to mid-teens," Wilson said.

There are 1,641 registered voters in Dalton Gardens.

"I’m anticipating a high turnout for Dalton Gardens’ three precincts," Wilson said. "As a result, I made sure we’d have enough ballots for those voters even if they show up in record numbers Tuesday. Our goal is to run a free, fair election with accurate and timely results."

The seats of Dalton Gardens Mayor Steve Roberge and the City Council members are on the line after some residents accused them of violating city ordinances by making a deal with a local family allowing a four-home development on a 5-acre meadow, on property that lacks street frontage. Recall proponents believe it will set a precedent in a city known for its sparse development on big, rural-style lots.

City officials, however, say the land deal was mediated after the family involved threatened to sue the city. They stand by their decision to allow the development.

To recall an official, the number of votes must be equal or greater than the number of votes each official received to be elected.

That means at least 345 votes must be in favor of recalling Roberge; 110 for council member Joe Myers; 122 for Denise Lundy; 337 for Scott Jordan; and 418 for Jamie Smith.

The officials were given the option of resigning during a five-day period in December after the petition was validated, but none gave up their seats.

The Coeur d'Alene, Lakeland, Post Falls and Plummer-Worley school districts are proposing supplemental levies, while the Post Falls School District is also asking voters to approve a general obligation bond. A simple-majority vote (50 percent, plus one) is needed for supplemental levies to pass. The bond requires a two-thirds majority vote to pass.

Coeur d'Alene's property tax proposal is $20 million per year for two years.

The request is $4 million more than the current $16 million-per-year levy, which passed in 2017 and expires this year.

If the levy passes, the average homeowner won't see an increase in property taxes.

School officials said even with the levy amount increase, if there are no other changes in the assessed value of a home for next year, that homeowner would see a decrease in property taxes due the school district.

Of the total levy request, $16 million will be used for extracurricular activities, music programs, athletics, school nurses, courses and materials for students at all levels, instructional assistants for more personalized attention in the classroom, updated technology, school upkeep and buses.

The additional $4 million will be split, with $2.5 million going toward increasing compensation for school employees and $1.5 million to be spent on mental health needs, bolstering security, training and development opportunities, and increasing building budgets to give teachers access to more funds for supplies so they aren't using personal money for classroom needs.

On average, teachers and other district staff would see about a 4 percent pay raise. School officials said, last year the district experienced 24 percent turnover rate among classified staff such as bus drivers, custodians, food service workers, maintenance and office staff. It had an 8 percent turnover among certified staff, including teachers and administrators.

Officials said some of those teachers departed for higher-paying jobs elsewhere.

The levy accounts for 22 percent of the school district's budget.

Post Falls is seeking a $19 million bond levy request to fund a new elementary school and upgrade five existing schools.

The bond proposal includes $12.5 million for a new elementary school on district-owned land in the Foxtail subdivision east of Highway 41. The request also includes $6.5 million to upgrade other schools — Seltice, Mullan Trail, Ponderosa, Frederick Post and Post Falls Middle — and to buy land for a future school.

Also, a two-year supplemental levy of nearly $10 million ($4.955 million per year) is being sought for maintenance and operations in Post Falls.

Even if both requests are approved, district patrons will not see an increase from their existing school district taxes.

That is possible because the district is paying off the voter-approved property tax measure that paid for construction of Post Falls High School and more taxpayers are paying for the cost of the construction of school facilities.

The district estimates that if the bond fails, school property taxes for the owner of a $250,000 home would decrease about $34.50 per year.

If the supplemental fails, the district estimates the tax drop would be about $195 per year.

Lakeland voters will consider a two-year supplemental levy of $8.99 million per year. If approved, the measure would replace a levy of the same amount that voters approved in 2017.

The proposed levy amount would represent about 25 percent of the district's general fund.

Existing taxes will not increase if the proposal is approved.

District officials estimate that the total assessed value of the district will increase 5 percent each year. If that's the case, the levy rate would go down to $2.71 (per $1,000 per taxable value) in 2020 and $2.58 in 2021. The current rate is $2.85.

Revenue from the supplemental levy would help pay for several maintenance and operations expenses, including all-day kindergarten, technology, all academic and athletic extracurricular activities, classroom materials, safety improvements, Advanced Learning Program opportunities and expansion of the vocational program.

The Plummer-Worley supplemental levy proposal is for $640,000 per year for two years. The levy rate would be $1.07 per $1,000 of taxable value. For the owner of a $200,000 home, the annual cost would be $107.

The levy would pay for the after-school program, a buzzer system on doors for safety, athletics, full-time kindergarten and elective and humanities courses. It would also allow the district to maintain a five-day school week and small class sizes.

Idaho school districts can ask patrons to support local property tax revenues that "supplement" state funding. Most districts rely on supplemental levies for their budgets.

The public is invited to view an accuracy test of the county's electronic counting system on Monday at 9:30 a.m. at the elections office, 1808 N. Third St., Coeur d'Alene. It will be the same process that is used on election night. There will be an opportunity to ask questions.

For more information on the election, call 208-446-1030 or visit www.kcgov.us.