Idaho Supreme Court: Idaho Falls must hold vote before renewing contract to buy electricity

Idaho high court: City must vote on power contract

BOISE, Idaho — The state Supreme Court says the city of Idaho Falls must let voters decide whether to approve the renewal of a long-running electricity purchase agreement with the Bonneville Power Administration.

The split court handed down the ruling Thursday, with the majority saying there’s enough time before the current electricity contract expires in 2011 to have residents vote on the issue. The high court pointed out that it has ruled in other cases that votes are necessary before a city incurs long-term debts.

Two of the court’s five justices dissented. Justice Jim Jones and Justice Pro-Tem Wayne Kidwell said the city had been purchasing power for more than a century and it had long since become a normal part of running the city. They said that means no vote is necessary.

The eastern Idaho city of Idaho Falls owns and operates its own electric utility, Idaho Falls Power. But that utility only generates about 10 percent of the city’s electricity needs, according to the court documents, and Idaho Falls purchases the remainder of its electricity from the Bonneville Power Administration.

The purchase agreement with the BPA expires Sept. 30, 2011, and city officials plan to renew the contract for another 17-year term.

The Idaho Constitution generally bars cities from incurring major debts or liabilities without voter approval, but it also says a vote isn’t required if the expenditures are ordinary and necessary.

Idaho Falls officials say the power agreement is both, and so no vote is required. But Mayor Jared Fuhriman thinks the matter should be put up for a public vote, and he argued to the high court that although the power agreement may be “ordinary,” it’s not “necessary” under the Constitution.

Justice Roger Burdick, writing for the majority, said although purchasing power on a monthly or short-term basis may be necessary, long-term liabilities should be put to a vote. Chief Justice Daniel Eismann and Justice Joel Horton concurred with Burdick’s opinion.