VAST funding mulled

SANDPOINT — Officials might have identified a short-term funding solution to keep Bonner County’s Victim Advocate Services Team from getting sidelined.

But there are no easy answers when it comes to a permanent source of funding for VAST, which provides assistance to victims of domestic violence.

County commissioners, Clerk Marie Scott and Prosecutor Phil Robinson met Monday to discuss VAST’s funding crisis after it excised from a U.S. Department of Justice grant.

“This is where we feared someday we would be. And now we’re here,” Robinson told commissioners.

VAST, which has traditionally relied on grant funding, responds to domestic violence calls 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Advocates work hand-in-hand with law officers, which eases the strain on law enforcement resources, Robinson said.

The loss of VAST would have a “phenomenal” effect on the workload handled by police officers, sheriff’s deputies and emergency dispatchers, Robinson said.

The level of service to victims would also be affected.

“It’s a major step backwards from what we’ve been able to provide,” said Robinson.

The grant funding currently sustaining the wages for three advocates runs out at the end of July, but Scott said VAST’s fund balance has enough money to cover those workers’ wages through September, the end of the county’s fiscal year.

“I see a solution, but I don’t see a long-term solution,” said commission Chairman Lewis Rich.

For the coming fiscal year, there’s enough money to cover VAST supervisor Peggy Sherbon’s salary and the wages of only one advocate without hiking taxes, according to Scott.

Although the county is anticipating a revenue shortfall of nearly a half-million dollars, commissioners agreed to consider a more lasting solution to the financial dilemma. That solution could involve asking cities which benefit from VAST to contribute to the program.

Commissioner Joe Young, a former deputy, said he understands the importance of VAST.

“They are a huge asset to law enforcement,” he said. “We’re going to have to prioritize and this is a priority.”