The Budget Cycle: From Department Requests to a Certified Levy

A local budget gets built in spring, argued over in summer and locked in September. By the time most people notice, in late November when the tax bill arrives, every decision is months old. The people who change budgets show up in May, June and August.

Three fiscal years, one tax calendar

Idaho counties and cities run on a fiscal year that starts October 1 (Idaho Code 31-1601 and 50-1001). School districts start July 1 (Idaho Code 33-701). So the city's "fiscal year 2027" runs October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027, while the school district's FY2027 started three months earlier.

Property tax runs on its own calendar year. Taxes levied in fall 2026 are billed in November 2026, with the first half due December 20 and the second half June 20, 2027 (Idaho Code 63-903). The Tax Commission's own 2026 training slides stop to ask which year everyone means. When you talk about a budget at a meeting, in testimony or online, say both: "the city's 2026 property tax levy, which funds fiscal year 2027."

The steps, in order

1. Lock the hearing date (April 30)

Idaho Code 63-802A requires every taxing district to tell the county clerk the date and place of its budget hearing by April 30. The penalty for missing it is steep: the district cannot include any increase allowed by 63-802(1)(a) that year (the 3 percent plus the new construction and annexation amounts), and it cannot recover forgone amounts. Those hearing dates then print on the assessment notice homeowners get in June, which is how most people should learn about them.

2. Collect requests (May)

For counties, Idaho Code 31-1602 makes the county auditor (the clerk) the budget officer. By the first Monday in May the budget officer asks every department for an itemized estimate, due by the third Monday in May, showing revenues other than taxes and all expected spending, with the two preceding years for comparison. Cities and special districts follow similar habits even where the statute is less detailed.

3. Build a tentative budget (June to August)

The budget officer files a suggested budget, which Idaho Code 31-1603 says should show "the complete financial program" of the county. Commissioners must receive it by the first Monday in August and agree on tentative amounts (31-1604). Cities do the same, then enter the tentative figures in the council minutes (50-1002). This is the stage where workshops happen. They are dull. They are also where the real choices get made.

4. Publish the notice

The published notice matters more than any slideshow. For counties, the notice runs no later than the third week of August and lists the property tax revenue, other revenue and the amount proposed for each office, in at least "salaries" and "other expenses," with two prior years (31-1604). For cities, the notice runs twice, at least seven days apart, in the official newspaper and lists proposed spending and revenue by fund or department, the two prior years, and the estimated property tax revenue (50-1002).

5. Hold the hearing and adopt

At the city hearing, 50-1002 says "any interested person may appear and show cause" why the budget should or should not be adopted. County commissioners meet on or before the Tuesday after the first Monday in September, and 31-1604 lets any taxpayer "appear and be heard" on any part of the tentative budget. Cities then pass the annual appropriation ordinance before October 1 (50-1003).

School districts run earlier. Idaho Code 33-801 requires the budget to be prepared and a public hearing held at least 28 days before the board's regular July meeting, with adoption at the hearing or within 14 days after it. The notice must include a summary of the current and next year's budget and two prior years of actual spending.

6. Certify dollars (early September)

Each district certifies the dollar amount it will raise from property tax to the county commissioners, using the Tax Commission's L-2 form. Idaho Code 63-803 sets the deadline as the Thursday before the second Monday in September, with an extension of up to seven working days if the county grants one. In 2026 that was September 10, or September 21 with an extension. The commissioners then compute a levy rate for each district, and the Tax Commission reviews them.

Amendments after adoption

Budgets change mid-year. An Idaho city can amend its appropriation upward only for specific reasons: more state or federal grant money, more revenue in a self-supporting enterprise fund, or more revenue from sources other than property tax (50-1003). Any other increase needs voter approval. A mid-year amendment hearing is a good one to attend, because it shows where the original budget guessed wrong.