Budget hearings set for Monday

SANDPOINT — Bonner County employees will get raises and the levy rates will go down under the county's spending plan for the coming fiscal year.

The $39.3 million budget will be the subject of a public hearing on Monday at the Bonner County Courthouse. The budget hearing starts at 10 a.m. and resumes at 6 p.m.

The pending budget includes pay raises for a majority of county employees in a bid to lure new employees and keep existing ones on staff, according to county Commissioner Joe Young.

"We have had a hard time attracting and retaining employees in all our departments," said Young. "These raises are the first step in an attempt to pay our employees a living wage."

Marcia Phillips, who chairs the commission, said employees have worked hard to provide services in a growing county.

"These raises will help them offset their cost of living in the county while lowering the levy rate significantly on both of our budgets," she added.

Coroner Kit Rose is the only elected official who will receive a pay hike.

Total increases for the county and the its road and bridge districts amounts to approximately $930,000. Raises plus the increased cost of health insurance and benefits will use up another $730,000, the commission said.

Budget increases will be funded through about $454,000 in new construction taxes and the balance through taxes on existing properties.

The proposed levy rate for the county is 0.002794, or $279.40 per $100,000 of assessed value, which is significantly lower than last year's rate of 0.003283. The proposed Road and Bridge levy is 0.000935, a reduction from last year's 0.001196, a decrease of $26.05 per hundred thousand of assessed value.

The county's $2.2 million ambulance district budget is also slated for consideration at the hearing. The estimated revenue for the district consists of almost $1.8 million in taxes and $410,000 in fees.