KOOTENAI COUNTY, Idaho — Kootenai County voters will decide on a $6 million levy next month for Kootenai County Fire and Rescue. It is the first time in the department's history it has asked for a levy.

As the community continues to grow, so do the number of calls coming in to Kootenai County Fire and Rescue. With its current budget, it no longer has enough money to keep up.

These growing pains impact everything from emergency response times to the number of firefighters and paramedics the department needs. Kootenai Fire says inflation has increased their costs as well.

"With the growth and with inflation, we're finding ourselves in a very difficult financial situation," said Mitchell Copstead of Kootenai County Fire and Rescue.

Right now, Idaho law limits annual budget growth to 3 per

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