Board's raises debated at hearing

SANDPOINT — Bonner County commissioners unanimously adopted on Monday $63 million spending plan for the county and a $3.9 million budget for EMS for the 2019-2020 fiscal year.

“The budget did go up but taxes did not,” Bonner County Clerk Michael Rosedale said during public hearings on the budgets.

The county’s budget for the current fiscal year was projected at $56.7 million.

One of the budget’s themes this go around was ensuring that fees the county collects aren’t too conservative and track with the actual costs incurred by the county.

“That’s what you’re going to see — fees increasing to match the actual cost of what it’s costing the county to do those things,” said Commission Chairman Jeff Connolly.

Commissioner Dan McDonald said updating fee schedules will add revenue and ease the tax burden on landowners. McDonald said there nearly 60 taxing districts within Bonner County.

“Everybody’s putting pressure on the property owners and we don’t want to be the ones doing the same. We successfully, over the last two and a half years, have been able to rope this thing in,” McDonald said.

Idaho allows counties to increase taxes up to 3 percent, but Bonner is only one of eight of the state’s 44 counties which did not avail itself of that authority.

“The 36 remaining counties are taxing at the highest rate they possibly can. Bonner County and those that have foregone (the 3 percent) are not taxing to the full capacity,” Rosedale said.

Some employees will see a 3-percent increase in their wages, although Human Resources Director Cindy Binkerd said other employees will see slightly larger increases as part of a plan to make sure their wages remain competitive.

But one aspect of the budget drew criticism — raises for county commissioners.

Bonner County resident Rebecca Holland noted that commissioners were paid $68,000 in 2017, a sum that was increased to $78,200 in 2018 — a boost of 7 percent. The board’s salaries increased to $78,000 in 2019 and are set to increase to $84,500 in the coming fiscal year.

“What we see from 2017 to 2020 is a $16,500 increase, which equals a 24.26-percent increase in three fiscal years,” said Holland, who argued that the board’s raises were “exorbitant.”

Connolly has opted not to take the increase for two consecutive fiscal years and Bradshaw said he wasn’t taking his raise even though he went through a health scare earlier this month which included a “wallet biopsy.”

“I’m not taking it,” said Bradshaw, who supports raises for other county employees.

County officials defended the raises as part of years-long, county-wide effort to bring wages up. Bradshaw said the county has served as training ground for law enforcement and heavy equipment operators who are ultimately lured away by greener pastures.

“If wages didn’t come up to market value, why stay at your current job?” said Bradshaw.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.