Upon the Nov. elections, the city of Rathdrum appointed a new mayor, 41-year-old Mike Hill.
Victor Holmes, the previous mayor for the past 14 years, decided to step down, and Hill was successful in the race against John Lamb and Anthony Turrentine.
“It’s really hard to judge what the outcome of an election is going to be,” Hill said. “I felt it could have been anyone’s win, so I didn’t know what to anticipate.”
Shocked by the results, Hill expected a closer race in the end.
Hill received 57.67 percent of the votes, while his opponents Lamb and Turrentine received 23.15 percent and 19.19 percent, respectively.
Born in Lewiston, Idaho, and raised in Culdesac, Idaho, Hill enlisted in the United States Army at 17 and served for four years.
He married his high school sweetheart, Serena Hill, and together, they have four children who all attend the Lakeland Joint School District 272. Hill and his wife moved to Kootenai County about 15 years ago, and they have lived in Rathdrum since 2017.
Over the years, the issues within the city have become more of an interest to Hill.
“I share in the same experience that our citizens in our community experience and express some frustrations with,” he said. “Things like increased traffic and the increased population, the crowding in our schools, things like that… A big part of this is it’s been a heck of an opportunity to learn a lot about our city.”
Hill is extremely grateful for the opportunity he has been given. He has been on the city council for the past four years; after being influenced by several friends and family members, he decided to take on the task of being mayor.
“It’s humbling to have the support of the community, their trust and confidence–that I’ll do the best I can by them–and I really hope to listen to the community’s vision and to hopefully enact what it is that the community desires,” Hill said.
In his term as mayor, he plans to “inspire city staff” and find a way to continue to develop the community beneficially.
Hill has concerns about the massive rates of growth in the past several years.
“Our community has been growing at a rate that has been so incredibly rapid, and that has been so difficult for our community and infrastructure to keep up and catch up and to provide,” he said. “The service in our school district is an area that struggles with the increase and growth of the population.”
Hill plans to listen to what the community best agrees with and go forward with those values.
As the mayor, Hill plans to prioritize the LJSD 272 by creating open communication with the schools.
Along with communication, Hill would like to maintain the relationship between the school district to share resources for the betterment of the community and schools.
“The school district and the city can work together to partner together, to share resources and to pool things together,” he said.
Simple gestures between the city and the school district, like sharing snow plows, mowing each other’s grass and sharing fields, are examples of sharing that Hill would like to see more.
Another concern for Hill is making sure city staff, especially the police department, are being adequately paid and accommodated.
In comparison to neighboring towns like Post Falls, Couer d’Alene and Hayden, Hill believes wages and conditions for city workers should be taken into consideration.
“Compare what we pay our city staff for similar duties or responsibilities and what is there to do to retract new talent or retain existing staff,” he said.
Staying under budget and not increasing tax dollars for Rathdrum are huge concerns Hill has in mind.
Eventually, the town has a vision to build a new city hall, however, decisions have to be made on how to fund it without raising taxes.
“It’s a really big goal of mine to live within our means and stay within the budget,” Hill said.
Hill is excited to take action in his new position and is excited for the challenges that await him.
“It’s not something that really I’m nervous about; it’s something I’m eager about, to learn, to grow, to explore,” Hill said. “Sometimes when you get somebody new, you have a new perspective, a new way of looking at things.”
Members of Lakeland High School are excited for a fresh face in the mayoral position.
Many upperclassmen are reaching the age where they are able to vote. Some students at LHS, 18 or older, made their way to the polls for their first opportunity to vote.
Toby Tebbe, a senior at LHS, recently turned 18 in Sept. and voted on Nov. 7.
“I was really pleased with the results because I voted for him,” Tebbe said.
Brent Hill, son of Mike Hill and senior at LHS, is extremely excited for his father and how well he did in the election.
Brent Hill has no doubts about the success his father will face in her term as mayor.
“I am excited for my dad,” Brent Hill said on Wednesday. “He has a lot of plans for the city, so it’s been awesome to see.”
