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Commissioners probe jail maintenance lines after facilities funding shortfall
Summary
Bonner County budget reviewers asked sheriff's staff to reallocate a prior $50,000 facilities shortfall and to clarify which repairs are maintenance versus capital replacements.
During the June 18 budget review, Bonner County commissioners examined multiple jail-related expense lines and flagged a $50,000 facilities funding shortfall that has left jail maintenance accounts in the red.
Finance staff said the county had reduced the facilities budget by $50,000 earlier in the current fiscal year but the mirror allocation to the justice/general facilities fund was not posted as intended; as a result the justice facilities account is negative and the sheriff's office has been covering repairs by shifting charges among lines. Staff identified a current negative balance of about $32,659 in the facilities account and said the total gap could reach roughly $50,000 by year end without corrective transfers.
Commissioners discussed whether routine repairs (toilets, faucets, painting) should remain in maintenance or be covered by a centralized facilities allocation while larger, one-time equipment replacements (refrigerators, air-conditioning units, other long-life assets) be treated as capital. Staff recalled prior large capital work: multiple years ago several air-conditioning units required replacement at roughly $400,000 total, an amount far beyond the annual maintenance allocation.
The board indicated preference to zero out small miscellaneous repair requests in the sheriff's jail budget and fund recurring facility needs from the sheriff admin facilities account (03450). Finance staff said they already added $50,000 to sheriff admin at a prior meeting and would reallocate the specific maintenance lines accordingly; commissioners asked for a clear accounting of last year's re-allocations so the historical pattern of spending is traceable.
Separately, commissioners reviewed small-asset, equipment and repair requests (flooring, control-panel parts, replacement radios) and asked the sheriff's office to itemize planned purchases before approving an increased equipment line. For items with unclear historical posting, the board said it would favor moving identified recurring maintenance into the centralized $50,000 facilities allocation and reduce miscellaneous buckets until the county adopts a consistent contingency policy across departments.
