Coeur d’Alene is an area of pure beauty. 

Its picturesque lake attracts big-name celebrities like Justin Bieber and Kim Kardashian. Its downtown core has the same aesthetic charm as places like Aspen, Colo., or even, arguably, a miniature Beverly Hills.

It’s not surprising that the city experienced a 35.6% population increase between 2010 and 2024, according to the nonpartisan civic database USA Facts. This far exceeds the nation's population growth of 9.9% during the same period. 

The ancillary tax revenue benefits of population growth, however, mean more help is needed to operate the city of Coeur d’Alene, which in the past fiscal year alone, Oct. 1, 2024, to Oct. 1, 2025, cleared 1,422 building permits for a near whopping $303.6 million in valuation. 

The fiscal year prior to that, Oct. 1, 2023, to Oct. 1, 2024, the city greenlighted 1,289 building permits for a total valuation of about $210.73 million. 

“The city has rapidly grown,” Coeur d’Alene Finance Director Katie Ebner said.

To combat this exponential rise and hopefully hire some more people, the city is newly proposing to increase certain building, water and parking fees, among others. If the proposal passes, the extra dollars will be used to grow staff, at comparable rates to neighboring North Idaho communities. 

City documents show at least 40 proposed fee increases, as well as new fees or fee reinstatements. The full list of proposed fee increases can be viewed at cdaid.org/publichearing. 

In the buildings department, the city seeks to bump up general reinspection fees from $70 to $100. The fee for appealing uniform abatements and international codes could increase from $75 to $250. The city’s commercial plumbing fee could increase from $40 to $50.

In the planning department, the city seeks to bump up its parking in-lieu fee. The city has in place an ordinance that gave developers an option to pay the city a fee rather than being required to build their own off-street parking spaces, lots and garages. If downtown developers currently intend to forgo building their own parking, they pay the city $10,000. The city now wants to double that fee to $20,000.

There’s a proposed impact on bulk water users. The minimum usage fee could increase from $5 to $5.25 per month.

“We look at our fees annually,” City Clerk Renata McLeod said. “So, we look at what our costs are and what needs to be changed.”

Ebner said issues like population growth, the cost of living and the city’s ability to staff its departments are increasing the demand on its current employees, prompting the proposed fee increases.  

“We have to be competitive. Those increases have been high over the years — probably since COVID,” she said. “If those level out, that would level out the city’s costs.”

Turnover has hit the city hard over the past couple of years. Last March, Ebner informed city officials that 40 positions were lost due to resignations, retirements or internal candidates hired from within. The unfilled positions saved the city $400,000.

By December, the city reported losing at least another 24 positions due to its Voluntary Separation Incentive Program. The program paid eligible employees to voluntarily retire from the city, saving the city $200,000 over three years.

According to Ebner, the city looks to add 7.5 full-time-equivalent positions to the budget over the next fiscal year: 

• A part-time attorney at $67,881 in wages and benefits.

• Three firefighter/EMT positions (mostly funded by the Kootenai County Emergency Medical Services System) and an additional fire marshal position at $500,001 in wages and benefits. 

• An inspector/plan examiner at $104,396 in wages and benefits.

• The recent hiring of a custodian and requested hiring of an HVAC technician at $167,021 in wages and benefits.

Per the future of Coeur d’Alene and its continued growth, Ebner said, “We’re built out.”

“The only way to build is up,” she said. “Which is what we are seeing.”

The city of Coeur d’Alene is slated to hold a public hearing regarding the proposed fee increases at 6 p.m., Aug. 4, at the Library Community Room at 702 E. Front Ave. Anyone interested in making public comments at the scheduled forum is encouraged to call the city clerk’s office at 208-769-2231.