County adopts $48 million spending plan

SANDPOINT - Bonner County is bracing for the loss of $800,000 in road funding due to the uncertainty surrounding continued federal aid to timber-dependent counties.

The county had been receiving the road funding through the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act, which was co-authored by U.S. Sens. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, and Ron Wyden, D-Oregon. The act established a six-year payment formula for counties that receive revenue sharing payments for U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands.

The act provided a dedicated funding stream for rural counties with lands exempt from property taxes.

Although there is a trace of hope the federal act could still be extended when Congress convenes this month, county officials are not counting on it, according to Bonner County's budget, which was adopted on Aug. 27.

"We did not take the Craig/Wyden funding into account because it was not a sure thing," county Clerk Marie Scott.

Scott said the Road & Bridge Department did a good job insulating itself from the threat of the lost federal funding by using it for equipment purchases, which means road maintenance is not expected to be affected.

The county adopted the $48.1 million spending plan amid a backdrop of declining revenues from sales tax, service fees and interest earned on treasury deposits.

"We were dealing with a reduction in revenues from all quarters," Scott said. "This was a really tough budget to put together."

The stratospheric rise in fuel costs and increases in insurance premiums also took their toll on the budget, according to Scott. As a result, department heads and county commissioners adopted a theme during budget workshops.

"They tried really hard to ensure that the level of service would remain the same," she said.

The county opted to fund the domestic violence Victims Advocate Services Team, which was written out of a U.S. Department of Justice grant by a former partner agency. The county funding will sustain three positions which were in jeopardy when VAST wasn't included in the grant.

"The program will be just at it was," said VAST Supervisor Peggy Sherbon.

Funding was also approved for another deputy prosecutor, two part-time legal assistant positions at the Public Defender's Office, and three more dispatchers. The county is also adding a geographical information system technician to facilitate the integration of enhanced 911, which provides dispatchers with maps showing where an emergency call is originating from.

Some of the county's hourly employees are receiving a pay hike averaging approximately 2 percent. Elected officials are also getting a raise in their salaries.

Scott said commissioners resolved to pay all elected officials, except the prosecutor and part-time coroner, the same amount - $56,000, an increase of about $2,000 annually.

Coroner Kathryn "Kitt" Rose will receive $40,000 and presumptive Prosecutor-elect Louis Marshall, who has no competition in his bid to succeed Phil Robinson, will be compensated $80,000. The incoming sheriff will see a pay cut of about $1,700, Scott said.

The county levy rate was still being calculated on Friday and Scott said it was too soon to say how much of an increase taxpayers will see.

"But it looks like any increases would be extremely nominal," she said.