OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Post Falls City Council Meeting - September 2, 2025

City CouncilWednesday, September 3, 2025
BodyPost Falls, Idaho
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, September 3, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:19:27

Transcript — Verbatim
0:37

Call the meeting to order, please rise for the pledge.

0:40

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands.

0:48

One nation undervisible with liberty and justice for all.

0:58

Welcome to the September 2nd, 2025 Pulse Falls City Council meeting.

1:03

Shannon, please note that all council members are present.

1:07

And I have no announcements, appointments, or presentations tonight.

1:11

Are there any amendments to the agenda?

1:14

There are none tonight, sir.

1:15

Declarations of conflict.

1:19

Seeing none, would you please present the consent calendar?

1:22

Item A's minutes from the August 19th, 2025 City Council meeting.

1:26

And item B is payables.

1:27

August 20th through September 3rd, 2025.

1:31

Mr.

1:31

Mulloy, you had a comment?

1:32

Yeah, so one thing obviously I rambled on for a bit last week and I take every effort I can to make sure everything I say is factual, but I did mess up on one statement of fact.

1:42

So the minutes are fine.

1:44

But part of my rambling, I mentioned that the vote on last year's seven percent increase was unanimous.

1:50

Uh at the August 20th, 2024 budget hearing, uh it was unanimous vote to approve the budget and the seven percent tax increase.

1:57

However, counselor Stigleader reminded me that when the budget resolution came back at the next meeting, she did vote against that.

2:04

So I wanted to make sure the record was straightened on that.

2:07

She voted against it.

2:08

Uh thank you for giving me the grace and the opportunity to correct that.

2:12

So noted, and that again was not in the minutes, but we can you can document with that I would move to approve the minutes uh the consent calendar as presented.

2:24

Second second motion seconds further discussion.

2:27

Roll call, please.

2:29

Stig leader, I Davis, I Zigler, I Malloy.

2:35

Aye.

2:36

Motion passes, and that was the shortest consent calendar I've experienced in 27 years.

2:41

Uh tonight we have no public hearings.

2:44

Uh we're down to unfinished returning business and the uh we first item is a continuate continued deliberation of the fiscal year 26 budget.

2:54

Uh I know council had requested time to look at information that was provided.

2:57

Mr.

2:58

Wilson, uh did you have any comments to make before we no?

3:02

We're happy to answer any questions.

3:03

We have the presentation from the last meeting queued up, so we can pull that up if there's any questions that you want to look at.

3:09

Otherwise, we're just here to answer questions.

3:13

Staff, uh council questions.

3:16

I would just like to voice my appreciation to the council for delaying the vote on this since my internet connectivity in the middle of South Dakota was very much lacking.

3:26

Uh so I appreciate it.

3:27

And did spend the last week and a half uh reviewing all the numbers again, going through the presentation, watching the entirety of the city council meeting, met with Warren and Field and they answered several of my questions.

3:38

So um again, just thank you for giving me the chance to really dive into this uh important vote.

3:46

I have a question about the police budget, if I could.

3:50

So um from what I could determine, we're decreasing our police budget from like 10.4 million to 9.8.

3:58

Is that accurate?

4:00

So that is the purchase of I actually looked that up for Mayor Jacobson.

4:04

I'm not sure that I brought the material with me.

4:08

I do have the it was uh the capital for the purchase of vehicles and also the um cybersecurity contract for silent was in there, which was being paid for using ARPA funds, but it was within the police budget, and that was about a hundred and eighty thousand dollars that we are no so we went through the process with silent of going through all of our software and our hardware, and now we're just with a maintenance with them, and I think that contract and we moved it over into IT and out of the police budget, it's 30 some thousand now in the in the upcoming year.

4:48

So those are the two items that have been reduced out of there is the capital for cars, which is 300 and some odd thousand and the 180,000 dollar contract.

4:56

Okay, the difference between 10.4 million and 9.8 million is 600,000.

5:02

Okay, there was probably one other thing in there then.

5:05

I guess my concern is that um it's been reiterated by residents time and time again that law enforcement and safety is their number one priority in post falls, and I want to make sure that if we're increasing taxes, that is 100% funded.

5:19

Um I think that there were some other budgets that were increasing that were not particularly identified as resident priorities.

5:26

And so if we're gonna support an increase in taxes, I'd like to see the priorities um fully supported.

5:35

So I don't know if if you want to speak to your budget.

5:37

Do you feel like you're getting what you need in that the use decreases are just because things are falling off from last year, or are you are you really having to take uh meaningful cuts?

5:52

Good evening, Mayor and Council.

5:55

Yeah, no, you're good.

5:55

Uh Jason Mueller, captain for the police department, uh currently acting as the chief.

5:59

So I've sat through many of the budget meetings, and as we all know, and as you've been apprised of, uh there's a lot of needs that we have, and without being able to get up there and you know have this big giant pot of money that can pay for all of it.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Engagement██████████████████████22%
Public Safety██████████████████18%
Water And Wastewater Management█████████████████17%
Procedural███████████████15%
Budget Equity Analysis██████████████14%
Technology and Innovation████4%
Fiscal Sustainability████4%
Engineering And Infrastructure███3%
Personnel Matters███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Post Falls City Council Meeting - September 2, 2025

The Post Falls City Council met on September 2, 2025, to address a full agenda including the fiscal year 2026 budget, fee resolutions, infrastructure projects, and updates to meeting procedures. All council members were present.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved minutes from the August 19, 2025 City Council meeting.
  • Approved payables for August 20 through September 3, 2025.
  • Councilman Mulloy corrected a previous statement regarding a 2024 budget vote, noting that Councilor Stigleader voted against the budget resolution despite the initial budget hearing being unanimous.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were made during the citizens' issues portion of the agenda.

Discussion Items

  • Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Deliberation: Council debated the proposed budget that included a 3% property tax increase. Concerns were raised about decreases in the police, parks, and public works budgets despite overall budget growth. Police Acting Chief Jason Mueller and Parks Director Dave Fair stated they could manage with current resources. Council discussed the impact of inflation, property tax mechanics, and growth. After deliberation, the budget was approved.
  • Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Ordinance: The ordinance appropriating $165,432,629 was read and approved, with clarification that the large figure includes carryovers and enterprise funds; the general fund property tax levy is approximately $18.2 million.
  • Guy Road Lift Station Decommissioning and Gravity Sewer Project: Project Manager Jackson Fleshman presented an additional services amendment ($5,100) with VulcanComer Engineers for design adjustments, including deferring the Chase Road trunk line portion to a later date. The amendment was approved.
  • Updates to Rules of Procedure for Meetings and Public Hearings: Attorney Herrington presented updates incorporating Fields Rules of Order, updated contact info, and electronic submission guidelines. Council debated the deadline for designating a spokesperson for groups of four or more; it was amended to match the written testimony deadline of four business days. The rules were approved with that amendment.
  • Administrative Report: CCTV Truck Update: Utilities Manager Craig Bornpool reported on the use of a new closed-circuit television truck for sewer inspections. Examples showed proactive detection of blockages, root intrusion, and industrial discharge issues, improving efficiency and preventing emergencies.

Key Outcomes

  • FY26 Budget Approved: Motion to approve the fiscal year 2026 budget as presented (7-0).
  • FY26 Budget Ordinance Approved: First and only reading passed unanimously (7-0).
  • Fee Resolution Approved: Fiscal year 2026 fee resolution passed unanimously.
  • Guy Road Project Amendment Approved: Additional services contract amendment for $5,100 approved unanimously.
  • Rules of Procedure Updated: Approved with amendment to align spokesperson deadline with written testimony deadline (4 business days).
  • Executive Session: Council voted to enter executive session for personnel evaluation/discussion pursuant to Idaho Code 74-206B.

Meeting Transcript

Call the meeting to order, please rise for the pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation undervisible with liberty and justice for all. Welcome to the September 2nd, 2025 Pulse Falls City Council meeting. Shannon, please note that all council members are present. And I have no announcements, appointments, or presentations tonight. Are there any amendments to the agenda? There are none tonight, sir. Declarations of conflict. Seeing none, would you please present the consent calendar? Item A's minutes from the August 19th, 2025 City Council meeting. And item B is payables. August 20th through September 3rd, 2025. Mr. Mulloy, you had a comment? Yeah, so one thing obviously I rambled on for a bit last week and I take every effort I can to make sure everything I say is factual, but I did mess up on one statement of fact. So the minutes are fine. But part of my rambling, I mentioned that the vote on last year's seven percent increase was unanimous. Uh at the August 20th, 2024 budget hearing, uh it was unanimous vote to approve the budget and the seven percent tax increase. However, counselor Stigleader reminded me that when the budget resolution came back at the next meeting, she did vote against that. So I wanted to make sure the record was straightened on that. She voted against it. Uh thank you for giving me the grace and the opportunity to correct that. So noted, and that again was not in the minutes, but we can you can document with that I would move to approve the minutes uh the consent calendar as presented. Second second motion seconds further discussion. Roll call, please. Stig leader, I Davis, I Zigler, I Malloy. Aye. Motion passes, and that was the shortest consent calendar I've experienced in 27 years. Uh tonight we have no public hearings. Uh we're down to unfinished returning business and the uh we first item is a continuate continued deliberation of the fiscal year 26 budget. Uh I know council had requested time to look at information that was provided. Mr. Wilson, uh did you have any comments to make before we no? We're happy to answer any questions. We have the presentation from the last meeting queued up, so we can pull that up if there's any questions that you want to look at. Otherwise, we're just here to answer questions. Staff, uh council questions. I would just like to voice my appreciation to the council for delaying the vote on this since my internet connectivity in the middle of South Dakota was very much lacking. Uh so I appreciate it. And did spend the last week and a half uh reviewing all the numbers again, going through the presentation, watching the entirety of the city council meeting, met with Warren and Field and they answered several of my questions. So um again, just thank you for giving me the chance to really dive into this uh important vote. I have a question about the police budget, if I could. So um from what I could determine, we're decreasing our police budget from like 10.4 million to 9.8. Is that accurate? So that is the purchase of I actually looked that up for Mayor Jacobson. I'm not sure that I brought the material with me. I do have the it was uh the capital for the purchase of vehicles and also the um cybersecurity contract for silent was in there, which was being paid for using ARPA funds, but it was within the police budget, and that was about a hundred and eighty thousand dollars that we are no so we went through the process with silent of going through all of our software and our hardware, and now we're just with a maintenance with them, and I think that contract and we moved it over into IT and out of the police budget, it's 30 some thousand now in the in the upcoming year. So those are the two items that have been reduced out of there is the capital for cars, which is 300 and some odd thousand and the 180,000 dollar contract. Okay, the difference between 10.4 million and 9.8 million is 600,000.

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