Idaho leaders convene in Payette
Legislative meetings held across county Tuesday
By JESSICA KELLER
ARGUS OBSERVER
Wednesday, January 7, 2009 11:15 AM PST
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| Idaho District 9 state legislators Sen. Monty Pearce (left) and state Rep. Lawerence Denney (center) listen while state Rep. Judy Boyle (right) addresses a small group of residents at a town hall meeting at the Payette County Courthouse in Payette Tuesday night. It was the third town hall meeting the three state legislators conducted in Payette County to share their thoughts on the upcoming legislative session and hear residents’ concerns. |
PAYETTE — Working out the 2009 to 2010 Idaho state budget will be a key theme for state legislators when they convene this month and it was one of the main topics addressed by Idaho District 9 legislators at a town hall meeting at Payette County Courthouse Tuesday.
State Sen. Monty Pearce, R-New Plymouth, State Rep. Lawerence Denney, R-Cambridge, and newly elected State Rep. Judy Boyle, R-Midvale, stopped in Payette in the last of three meetings staged in Payette County Tuesday to discuss upcoming issues at the Idaho Legislature and to hear concerns from residents.
The three area lawmakers will meet in Adams County today and conclude their District 9 tour in Washington County Thursday.
Pearce said at the other two meetings — held in New Plymouth and Fruitland — an Idaho Fish & Game fee increase, education, state prisons and immigration were key issues for residents. Pearce said he feels this year will be a tough one for Idaho residents and Idaho legislators as they determine whether any tax increases should take place during an economic downturn.
Denney indicated to the small group of area residents who attended the Payette session a lot of tough choices appear to be on the horizon at the state Legislature. He also said it did not appear any state agency would be immune from cuts, including education, which takes up 50 percent of the state budget.
He did indicate legislators would try to provide more flexibility for school district superintendents to decide where their allotted money would go, rather than limiting it.
Boyle said one of her main goals for this upcoming session was to cut waste in a bulky state government setting and getting government back into its proper role of not being too large or too intrusive.
Area resident Claude Bruce, who he has been involved in water and soil conservation issues and districts for a number of years, told the legislators he believed protection of water, a precious commodity in Idaho, should be key for legislators and appealed to them to not let any legislation pass that would destroy water conservation efforts, especially in light of the likelihood for future state government cutbacks.
“Water is the lifeblood in Idaho. It truly is,” Pearce agreed.
Denney agreed that Idaho officials need to continue to conserve what the state has because Idaho's population is only going to increase.
Later in the discussion, the topic drifted toward the upcoming budget session again, and one person in the audience asked what Idaho residents could expect to see cuts in.
“This year we will be separating the nice from the necessary,” Pearce said, adding a drawback is what may be nice to him may be considered necessary for others.
They also touched upon what fee or tax increases may be necessary this year. While Pearce said he was hesitant to raise any taxes or fees in an economic downturn, Denney said there are some areas legislators could look at, such as dedicating a portion of the sales tax that apply to transportation item sales to repairing Idaho roads and highways.
“This could be a real blessing if we just put on our heads right and started cutting back,” audience member Bill Ford said. He said after the meeting he believed economic downturns weren’t necessarily bad for the country because they teach people they can get by with less and show them how wasteful things had gotten.
“We have to do the best we can with what we’ve got,” Ford said.
