POST FALLS — City Council members voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the $165 million budget, including carryovers from past project funding.

Before councilors voted, Samantha Steigleder said "police resources are being stretched very thin," posing a question to Capt. Jason Mealer about how the police budget is viable in spite of a decrease from fiscal year 2025 to fiscal year 2026. 

"Do you truly have what you need to do the best that you can for the residents of Post Falls?" Steigleder asked.

Mealer and city staff pointed out that the decrease in the budget stemmed from the transfer of police cybersecurity to the newly formed IT division.

"In a perfect world, there’s a lot of things I’d like to have, but with what the real world and what we have available, to us, we’ve done the best that we could with what we have for this year," Mealer said.

Steigleder also posed a similar question to Parks and Recreation Director Dave Fair.

"I think the parks department, second only to the police department, is the great love of the residents of Post Falls and so I think it is a difficult decision to really get behind and support in the community when the three biggest service providers to the residents of Post Falls, police, parks and public works are taking a decrease, but we’re increasing our budget overall," Steigleder said.

"We’re comfortable, we can do it," Fair said.

The budget includes a $54 million general fund budget for the next fiscal year and a 3% property tax increase. 

A home assessed at $290,000 paid $815 in property taxes in 2023 and paid $797 in 2024. With a 3% one-time levy, the same home, now assessed at about $450,000, is projected to have the homeowner pay about $783 in taxes in 2026.

The fiscal year for the budget runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30, 2026.   

The city’s tax rate is $2.39 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, compared to $6.76 in 1995.

Continued budget deliberations were moved to Tuesday's meeting after councilors requested more budget details from city staff.

On Aug. 19, City Councilors Ryan Davis and Joe Malloy voted yes to approve the budget and Samantha Steigleder, Randy Westlund and Aaron Plew voted not to approve the budget as presented. City Councilor Nathan Ziegler was unable to vote due to an internet connectivity issue.

During that same meeting, the City Council unanimously approved the fee resolution and voted not to use any of the nearly $3 million foregone balance. Last year, City Councilors voted to use 3% of the foregone budget authority to fund planned improvements for city facilities.

Closing out the budget ordinance discussion, Mayor Ron Jacobson called the council members "stewards of taxpayer money" and said the process is always a balancing act.

"We don’t have an endless purse," Jacobson said.   

    Police Captain Jason Mealer speaks about the budget for the Post Falls Police Department at the City Council meeting Tuesday.
  

    Dave Fair, parks and recreation director, speaks about the parks budget during the Post Falls City Council meeting Tuesday.