A proposed increase in law enforcement services received overwhelming public support Tuesday at the Hayden City Council meeting.

All who spoke during the public comment period on the matter were in favor of a proposed levy override ballot measure that would provide funding for six additional Kootenai County Sheriff's Office deputies to patrol Hayden. The proposed levy override was recommended to the city council Aug. 9 by the Hayden Citizen Task Force on Public Safety after months of meeting and research.

The council voted 3-1 Aug. 9 in favor of asking Hayden residents to vote on the override levy, with council member Sandy White casting the only opposing vote.

Kootenai County Sheriff's Deputy Tanner Cox, who spoke on his own behalf as a Hayden resident, gave an impassioned speech for those who present themselves as supporters of law enforcement.

"What does the blue line mean? You see it on a million different cars. They're all over the place. You see people with 'blue lives matter' stickers and 'support local law enforcement,'" Cox said. "That means nothing if you're not willing to support us where we need it. To fly the flag but to not back it and put your money where your mouth is doesn't help me, it doesn't help the officers, it doesn't help their families."

He told the council members that if they don't support the levy and fund the police, that's defunding the police.

"So take your stickers off your car, because you're not helping," he said.

The ballot measure, if approved by voters, would increase Hayden's budget by nearly $600,000, increasing homeowners' annual taxes by $17.82 per $100,000 of taxable value based on current levy conditions.

Hayden presently has four deputies by contract with the sheriff's office. One of those deputies serves as a school resource officer in the Coeur d'Alene School District, with which Hayden splits the cost.

Hayden will use $300,000 in one-time funds to bring on three deputies later this year. The levy funds will allow the city to continue paying those three deputies as well as an additional three to be brought on later, bringing the total to 10 deputies to patrol Hayden, which has roughly 16,000 residents.

When the ballot language was brought to the council by city staff Aug. 16, White again voted no, this time joined in dissent by Council President Matt Roetter.

In an Aug. 18 Press article, Roetter said he preferred adding three deputies instead of six. He also shared concerns about the transparency of what the Hayden Urban Renewal Agency will collect from taxpayers if the levy override request goes through.

Prior to the meeting, City Administrator Brett Boyer said that all money in the levy will go to funding the deputies. Because the city's budget must be increased to include the $597,843 that will be added to the budget should the levy pass, the urban renewal agency will receive $41,928, but not from the levy. Boyer explained urban renewal dollars are separate from the general budget.

"They use the same rate as the other districts into their overall rate, multiplied by the valuations in the district," he said.

In his public comment, Lonnie Herington said Roetter's statements in the Press article were a red herring, or a distraction from the important matter at hand.

Urban renewal agencies in Idaho generate funds through tax increment financing. This is done by freezing the base tax rate within a district when it is created. The base tax rate continues to be collected by the county and remitted to taxing entities within the district, through the life of the district.

As an urban renewal district has new construction and increases in value due to improvements, the incremental tax created by those improvements is allocated to the urban renewal agency to pay for the public improvements made within that district.

The Hayden Urban Renewal Agency, also known as HURA, has funded and completed projects including improvements on Hayden Avenue from U.S. 95 to Government Way, redevelopment of the old fueling station that is now Capone's Pub and Grill and completed construction on the property just north of Hayden City Hall to include innovative stormwater design, educational public art and more public parking.

During the meeting, Roetter said he won't support a permanent tax that's not totally disclosed in the ballot language.

City Attorney Katharine Brereton of Lake City Law Group responded that Idaho law does not allow for urban renewal provisions to be included. She said in this type of situation, only very specific language can be included.

"Language with respect to other matters, which would include information about what monies may or may not go to HURA cannot be included on the ballot," she said.

Roetter questioned if, in doing so, the city would be transparent.

Brereton answered that if the Idaho Legislature has gone to the means to pass this new provision of the Idaho Code, which went into effect July 2021, and it is specifically in the statute that this language may not be included on ballot, then the city's compliance with Idaho law would mean that it is transparent.

At 5 p.m. Tuesday, the council will hold a special meeting to refine the ballot language and wording of the ordinance.

This story has been updated.