Over $168,170 delegated at weekly commissioners meeting
SANDPOINT — Upward of $168,170 of county, federal, and grant funding went toward routine expenditures, seasonal maintenance projects, and budget adjustments at Tuesday’s county commissioners meeting. The weekly meeting saw a modest attendance.
After opening the meeting with public comment and passing the consent agenda, the Treasurer’s Office asked commissioners to approve delinquent certifications for 2021 tax rolls.
Delinquent certifications are used to collect on property tax bills that were not paid by the second Monday in October. Types of delinquent payments include unpaid yield tax bills and homeowner restitution. Unpaid water and sewer bills on personal property are also considered delinquent payments, including mobile homes that are on privately owned land. The totals for late payments are added to the taxpayer’s next tax bill.
“Commissioners have to approve anything that is added to a tax bill,” said County Treasurer Cheryl Piehl. “This is all very procedural."
To learn more, the law can be found on legislature.idaho.gov by searching Idaho Code 63-902, or by calling the Treasurer’s Office at 208-265-1433.
The next department before the commission was Emergency Management. The commission was asked to approve a contract between the county and Spearpoint Logistics for the removal of hazardous fuels funded by an Idaho Fish and Game grant. McDonald said the project will not exceed $50,000.
The Solid Waste Department asked commissioners to approve a contract between the county and Pacific Steel and Recycling for the removal of metal piles at the Dickensheet Road and Colburn sites. Pacific Steel will charge $92 per ton to remove the metal. Both commissioners approved the contract.
“This year it was $75 per ton, it’s bumped up a bit.” said Melissa Libers, the department’s operations manager.
EMS brought two items before the commissioners. The first being consent dispatch agreements between the medical director and fire protection districts that would like to collaborate with the county in fiscal year 2022. Collaborative agencies include Sagle Fire, Sandpoint Fire, Westside Fire, West Pend Oreille Fire, Northside Fire, Sam Owen Fire, Schweitzer Fire District, Clark Fork Valley Ambulance, and Priest Lake EMTs Inc. Commissioners approved the agreement.
Medical transport agreements was the second item EMS brought before the commission, with unanimous approval. The contracts will be between the county and multiple agencies for emergency and non-emergency transportation services in the county. Contracts will last through fiscal year 2022 with a total budget of $143,520. Here’s a budget breakdown of the contracts: $43,260 with Clark Fork Valley Ambulance, $36,500 with Schweitzer Fire District, $55,260 with Priest Lake EMTs Inc., and $8,500 with Kootenai County Emergency Services Systems.
Commissioners approved a shared parking agreement brought forward by the Engineering Department. Parking will be shared with the Administration Building using their parking lot. The proposed EMS station and office will be constructed across the street from the administration building at 1314 Ontario St.
The first of two items brought by the Human Resources Department asked commissioners to approve a contract of $22,450 with Thinkzoom for annual risk management education. The costs were included in the annual Human Resources budget. Commissioner’s approved the contract.
“We do it every year. It’s been actually shown to reduce our liability and reduce our claims.” McDonald said after the vote.
The second item was a budget adjustment of $2,200 to be taken from the General Fund’s 5% statutory reserve. The budget overage came from the department's recruitment advertising. Commissioners approved the adjustment.
Every Tuesday at 9 a.m., the county commissioners hold a weekly business meeting. Meetings are open to the public and can be live-streamed on Bonner County’s YouTube channel.