Two studies released this week on Idaho’s workforce show state employees make less than their counterparts in neighboring states.
The Office of Performance Evaluations and the Division of Human Resources each released studies this week focused on understanding state employee pay and turnover. That’s after the Legislature requested the reports last year.
The study from the Division of Human Resources finds state worker pay is below market wages. The study says Idaho state employee wages are on average 10.7 percent lower than when compared to similar jobs in Arizona, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Continue Reading →
The courthouse in Power County, one of the counties that relies most heavily on personal property tax revenue
One of the chief problems with eliminating or phasing out Idaho’s business personal property tax is that it deals a blow to local government. Taxes on real and personal property are a significant revenue source for counties. That same property tax base also supports schools, hospitals, libraries and other services through designated levies.
We’ve recently taken up some of the big questions about Idaho’s business personal property tax, like what it is, and who benefits and who loses if it goes away. Still, it’s hard to fully understand the potential county-level impacts of eliminating the tax without knowing a little bit about how county budgets work. Continue Reading →
Housing data provider RealtyTrac is out with new numbers that show Boise is one of the worst places to buy a foreclosure. That’s not a bad thing.
“Certainly from the perspective of homeowners in that market, it’s a good thing to be on that worst list,” says RealtyTrac vice president Daren Blomquist. “Really what that means is there’s not a big backlog of foreclosure inventory that needs to be sold in that market.”
The ranking is based on a handful of factors in addition to how many foreclosures are available for sale. It looks at the discounts available on foreclosed homes, and how much local foreclosure activity increased or decreased over the last year. Continue Reading →
Three bills have been introduced in the Idaho Legislature that resurrect pieces of the education laws voters rejected last November.
Boise State Public Radio reports the Idaho School Boards Association is pushing for three new measures that deal with union bargaining.
The new bill would bring back open meetings for labor negotiations. The same bill would again allow school districts to set contract terms if negotiations with local unions were not concluded by a certain date. Continue Reading →
Two in five Idahoans who are “liquid asset poor” wouldn’t be able to pay their bills if they lost their job. The Idaho Statesmanreports on a study out today that takes a closer look at Americans’ finances.
A report released today by the Corporation for Enterprise Development says 44 percent of Idahoans are on the cusp of financial ruin.
Idaho ranks 24th in the country for the financial stability of its residents, the report said. Last year, Idaho ranked 31st. Continue Reading →
Click the image to see Gov. Otter's petition website.
A panel of Idaho senators voted unanimously to give a full hearing to legislation that would create a state-based health insurance exchange.
Gov. Otter’s chief of staff introduced the proposal to the Senate Commerce and Human Resources Committee today. It’s the first step toward creating an online insurance marketplace for Idaho.
“It’s important to understand that this RS [bill draft] is really the result of a process that began over 6 months ago in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld Obamacare,” said Otter’s chief of staff David Hensley. Continue Reading →
Gov. Otter advocated eliminating Idaho's business personal property tax in his State of the State address early this month.
Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter began and ended his talk to the Idaho Chamber Alliance this morning by cheering Chobani, the Greek yogurt manufacturer that opened a plant in Twin Falls last month. But the real subject of his talk was the 2013 legislative session, and his priorities for the months ahead.
One of those priorities is to establish a plan for eliminating Idaho’s business personal property tax. “We have a myriad of options,” the governor said, before appearing to float one of his own. Continue Reading →
It was a busy week at StateImpact Idaho! We started our deep-dive into Idaho’s business equipment tax called the personal property tax, which you’ll likely hear more about as the legislative session progresses. Here’s the five posts (plus a bonus), that got the most clicks, comments and shares this week:
A robotic arm picks up prop shafts during final inspection at the Mennie Machine Co. in Mark, Illinois.
The Associated Pressstarted rolling out a three-part series this week on jobs and the impact the recession and technology have had on workers around the globe. Here’s an excerpt:
Five years after the start of the Great Recession, the toll is terrifyingly clear: Millions of middle-class jobs have been lost in developed countries the world over.
Allstate's corporate headquarters in Northbrook, Illinois.
Allstate Insurance announced plans last week to expand its call center in Pocatello, saying 225 jobs will be added.
The insurance company already operates a call center in the area with 226 employees. The new employees will work in Allstate’s roadside services division, taking emergency calls from customers around the nation. Continue Reading →
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