Commission race goes to the wire
Bellevue levy too close to call
By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer
By 9 p.m. Tuesday night, clerks at the
Blaine County Courthouse had not yet finished counting ballots for the Blaine
County Commission and Blaine County Sheriff races.
Voter turnout was perceived to have been
good throughout the day on the Democratic ticket, where a hot county District 2
Commission race was being battled out by incumbent Commissioner Mary Ann Mix and
challenger Tom Bowman.
But the hotly contested Democratic primary
race may have siphoned off a number of Republicans, and voter turnout for the
Republican ticket was perceived mid-day to be very poor.
Blaine County Sheriff Walt Femling, who
was challenged by Hailey Patrol Officer Steve England, let his nerves show
during an interview Tuesday afternoon.
"I’ve had countless—I can’t tell you how
many people—say hey, you’re a shoe-in, so we’re going to vote in the
commissioner race," Femling said. "That is going to narrow the field on the
Republican ticket dramatically, and that’s not comfortable for me."
Femling said he has won most of his
elections by 80 percent margins or more. In those years, there has never been a
primary ticket dynamic like he faced yesterday, he said.
"It wasn’t really an issue, and it hasn’t
been an issue for the last 16 years, but it certainly is this year.
"I don’t like the fact that a very small
percentage of the people of Blaine County are going to make a decision on who
moves on to the next round," Femling said.
On the commission race, both Mix and
Bowman expressed optimism Tuesday afternoon.
"I would say that turnouts are good,
particularly down south, which is good for me," Mix said.
"I’m getting a lot of good feedback from
the people I’m talking with," Bowman said.
Mix said she spent election day going to
the polls and attending several meetings.
"I’m feeling really good about it, and
we’ve done what we can do," she said. "I’ve run on my record, and I feel good
about that.
"Throughout this whole entire campaign,
we’ve taken the high road, and we haven’t resorted to any smears."
Bowman said he was proud of his election
team.
"We have about 30 volunteers working on my
campaign," he said. "We’ve all agreed, win or lose, that this has been a great
experience for us as far as what we can put together and organize for a common
goal."
Bowman said that both he and Mix seemed to
get their messages across to voters.
"I’m getting my message across that it’s
time for somebody in the commissioners’ to deal with the growth that we’re going
to experience, and Mary Ann is running on her experience, and there’s no denying
that she has a lot of experience. I just want to change the focus of the board."
•
In Bellevue the future quality of city
services hinged on a yes vote in a special election for a levy rate increase. If
approved, the proposed levy rate increase would mean homeowners will pay more in
property taxes, money that will boost the overall city budget by at least
$277,000. The city’s current budget is about $1 million. In light of the city’s
recent growth, the goal of the levy increase is to help the city maintain
essential services like fire, police and street maintenance.
Although property taxes will increase, the
city is seeking an additional $180 to $216 from property owners, on average, per
year, the increase would bring improvements that would actually put some money
back in the pockets of Bellevue residents.
For example improving fire protection in
the city would improve the city’s fire safety rating. Better ratings typically
result in a savings on fire insurance, but certainly there will be enhanced fire
protection, said Bellevue Volunteer Fire Chief Dennis Cannon.
Homeowners fire insurance premiums are
governed by fire safety ratings.
Aging equipment and the city’s all
volunteer department are expected to cause the city’s rating to drop to yet a
lower class when an annual fire safety review is completed in the near future,
Cannon said.
Currently, the city spends about $52,000
on fire protection.
The budget override could double funds for
the fire department, which would put the city in a position to upgrade equipment
and pay a fire chief.
"My goal is to help out the tax payer by
saving them money and offering better fire control," Cannon said.
The current mil levy rate is .001342. The
proposed rate is .003.