County shores up sheriff's budgets

SANDPOINT — Bonner County commissioners adopted a pair of resolutions Tuesday to infuse the sheriff’s budgets with $120,000 in reserve money from the county’s justice fund.

“I think right now you’re taking care of what their immediate needs are between now and Sept. 30,” Clerk Marie Scott told commissioners.

Sheriff Darryl Wheeler’s spending plan for the 2010 fiscal year takes effect Oct. 1. Wheeler took office in January and inherited a previous administration’s budget.

Wheeler sought assurances last week from commissioners that higher-than-anticipated — but not yet received — revenue due the sheriff’s office would be applied to cover shortfalls in his department’s budget and that of the jail’s.

A good-sized chunk of the unscheduled revenue is expected from a contract with the U.S. Marshals Service.

The unscheduled revenue would have wound up in the justice fund, but would not necessarily wind up in the sheriff’s coffers because that fund also sustains other departments in the county.

Wheeler warned commissioners that the department would be forced to cut back on services and alter the way matters are handled while the 2010 spending plan was pending. Deputies, for instance, would have to conduct more business over the phone instead of responding to locations for service calls which are aren’t immediate hazards to persons or property.

Wheeler proposed resolutions to dedicate the incoming funding, but commissioners took the request under advisement. The board agreed to the funding request in principle, but wanted to consult with Scott on the most practical way of addressing the shortfalls.

“We agreed with their concept of accepting that funding to take care of some of their shortfalls in some things, but I was concerned with the resolution. The way it was presented wasn’t going to fix what they wanted to do,” commission Chairman Joe Young said on Tuesday.

Young said accepting the unscheduled revenue as originally proposed would require the sheriff to reopen the budget, publish notices for public hearing and then conduct the hearing — a process which would take several weeks.

Scott counseled commissioners to consider making treasury appropriations to adjust budgets at the sheriff’s office and jail. The advice led to the production of two resolutions shifting $60,000 each in reserve funds to shore up the budgets.

The funding will resolve $12,000 in red ink at the jail, in addition to paying for the installation of security cameras and control panel upgrades. Up to $20,000 would be left to cover jail operation expenses, although any unused funding would be put back into reserves.

The other $60,000 would be used to defray escalating animal-control costs — a line item which has been historically set at about $1,000. Under state law, the care and boarding of animals seized in neglect cases falls on the county.

However, commissioners stopped short of supplying funding for equipment to transport and house large animals until the county’s advisory committee on animal control finishes developing an operational plan.

Commissioners are scheduled to adopt Bonner County’s $47.4 million spending plan for the coming fiscal year today.

The meeting is set for 10 a.m. at the Bonner County Administration Building. Two sparsely attended public hearings were conducted on Monday, one of which clashed with a town meeting on health care reform hosted by U.S. Rep. Walt Minnick (D-Idaho).

Some are calling on the county to conduct another budget hearing and let voters decide whether a property tax increase should be allowed.

“That would be democracy at its best,” said landowner Ron Adamik.