Commissioner says the $1.9 million would have provided little property tax relief to those in need, was too risky to accept given legal conflicts surrounding program
Latah County commissioners on Monday rejected $1.9 million in state initiative funding — which would have provided property tax relief to local taxpayers — because they felt accepting the money would be too risky.
All three commissioners voted to decline to participate in Gov. Brad Little’s Public Safety Initiative Grant based on “legal advice and financial consultation,” according to Commission chairman Tom Lamar’s motion.
The initiative, which utilizes federal Coronavirus, Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds, would provide funding for public safety payroll expenses to city and county governments that agreed to participate in the initiative, and further agreed to provide the resulting savings as property tax relief to the taxpayers of the participating local governments by foregoing the taxes that would otherwise traditionally have been collected.