EMS to ‘extricate’ from county

SANDPOINT — In a Tuesday event described as the first Bonner County Ambulance District meeting, EMS staff and Bonner County officials announced their intent to transform Bonner County EMS into a new entity. 

Going forward, the EMS organization will become more independent from county leadership and services.

The move comes two months after EMS staff and county officials learned in early November that the organization had run out of money and was facing a financial crisis. EMS Chief Jeff Lindsey said at the time that EMS had been operating within its budget and that the shortage was unexpected.

Six EMS employees were told they were at risk of losing their jobs before Bonner County commissioners promised there wouldn’t be a reduction in force and took out a tax anticipation note loan to cover payroll for the immediate future. 

In the Jan. 7 meeting, Lindsey and the board of the ambulance service district — comprised of county commissioners Asia Williams, Ron Korn and Steven Bradshaw — described the structural change and delved into EMS’s financial records. 

Lindsey said that Bonner County EMS was founded as an ambulance district in 2005, but the county had always treated it like a department. Now, Lindsey said, EMS and Bonner County have agreed to steer the organization away from the county and work toward ending its use of some county functions such as insurance and human resources. 

“We need clear delineations from the county,” he said. “We have to extricate ourselves.” 

EMS staff then shared the results of an internal audit aimed at determining the unexpected deficit’s cause, which found that EMS had stayed within its budget during 2022, 2023 and 2024, but actual revenue was lower than the budgeted amount. 

“Something was not being added up correctly when the budgets were set for those three years,” said EMS employee Eric Wright.  

That problem was compounded when EMS contributed $2.4 million to a new $6 million county building that opened in September and acts as EMS’s headquarters and houses some county departments. 

Lindsey said he had been told by county accounting staff that funding sources including a relief package through the American Rescue Plan Act would cover the expense, but EMS ultimately only received $1.9 million, leaving an unexpected $500,000 deficit. 

Board members and EMS staff then examined options for addressing the crisis, and the board ultimately voted to not place a $2 million levy override on the ballot for the May election. 

Lindsey said EMS will save money due to the voluntary departure of three staff members expected to take place by the end of the month, and it expects to receive a 4% increase in tax revenue by collecting forgone taxes not levied in recent years. 

To further reduce costs, he expressed a commitment to seek out part-time employees to limit overtime spending — a partially-inevitable part of EMS work. 

“We are working hard to control the spending,” said Lindsey. 

Lindsey noted that without a levy override, EMS will likely need to take out two or three more loans to cover its expenses in the coming years. 

During the meeting, residents expressed frustration at the failure to balance spending with revenue, but shared appreciation for the critical work done by EMS staff. 

“Planning is needed to protect our EMS staff; they need to know that they are valued and appreciated, so that their livelihood is not always on the line when budgets in other areas are not accounted for properly,” one commenter said. 

In response to comments criticizing the fiscal responsibility of EMS leadership, Williams said EMS should never have been treated as a department and placed some of the blame for the revenue oversight on elected officials, including the county commissioners who served during the last three years. 

“Boards of commissioners have a responsibility,” Williams said. “When we want to do capital projects, we need a plan to save for capital projects, not just pull the trigger on a capital project mid-year.” 

Lindsey said that in the coming months, the Bonner County Emergency Medical Services Advisory Council will help advise EMS’s board members as they guide the organization. He added that while the board’s membership is currently identical to the board of county commissioners, leadership could change if the current board decides to restructure or delegate duties. 

Going forward, the district’s board will assemble monthly in a meeting separate from the county to examine business and vote on actions. Lindsey asked attendees to be patient as EMS adjusts to its changing structure.

“I appreciate all the work that's been put into this to make this a reality,” he said. “Give us a couple of meetings before you make judgments on how this thing goes.” 

The next EMS meeting is scheduled to take place 11 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 15, at the Bonner County Administration Building, 1500 Highway 2.