Bonner County commissioners press probation, detention staff to clarify budgets, add contingency and separate adult/juvenile funds

Bonner County commissioners on Monday reviewed proposed budgets for the county probation office and the juvenile detention facility and directed staff to provide clearer, line-by-line justifications, add modest contingency funding, and separate adult misdemeanor fee revenue from juvenile funding sources.

The commissioners—led by Chair Powell—heard a detailed walk-through of the probation and detention budgets from department leadership. Director Schulz said the county must treat the two budgets separately: “we do have 2 distinct budgets. We have the probation budget, which is the 1 we're gonna start with today, and we have the detention budget. The probation budget is under district court, and the detention budget is under justice... they are totally different and distinct budgets,” she said.

Why it matters: Staff and commissioners said past practice of shifting money between lines or relying on unpredictable off-budget revenue has left some routine operating costs underfunded and made year-over-year comparison difficult. The workshop aimed to produce a more transparent base budget so future requests for increases are documented and justified.

Most important items - Training and travel: Staff said probation and detention officers must meet POST training requirements (a minimum of about 20 certified hours per year) and that recent academy attendance and other conference costs have left the training line underfunded. The group directed staff to document anticipated attendees, per-person registration and per diem math, and to move registration/justification text into the main budget text field rather than an auxiliary notes box so the data appears in reports.

- Funding restrictions and fees: Staff explained juvenile training and programs are supported by designated state funds (lottery tax, tobacco tax/JCA funds and other juvenile-designated sources), which cannot be used for the adult misdemeanor program. Jen (staff) summarized adult misdemeanor funding and fees: “state statute allows us to charge up to $75 per month” for adult cost-of-supervision fees, and the county’s judges currently set that charge at $35 per month. The adult misdemeanor program primarily pays for itself from those fees and drug-testing charges; the county pays salaries. Commissioners instructed staff to make these funding distinctions explicit on each line.

- Revenue and contracts for detention: The detention facility generates revenue from housing contracts with other counties and the Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections. Staff said the department charges about $125 per day for out-of-county placements and has historically budgeted conservatively; actual contract revenue has varied (the facility had brought in about $39,000 so far this year). Commissioners asked staff to analyze actual historical revenues (multi‑year averages) and propose a reasonable conservative estimate to include in next year’s budget.

- Asset and operating lines: Commissioners flagged multiple underfunded lines, including copier leases (to be moved to a capital lease line), cell phones (probation reported 11 county phones; adult misdemeanor phones typically four), vehicle fuel and maintenance (probation reported seven fleet vehicles; detention four), and small equipment and repairs (radios, mower/grounds equipment and facility maintenance). Staff were directed to list specific replacement items, expected unit costs and timing so those lines reflect realistic anticipated expenditures rather than ad hoc supplements.

Key directives and next steps - Add clearer justification text into the primary budget text fields (not the separate notes box) for each line item, including counts of staff, unit costs and expected frequency of the expense. - Create or identify a small contingency/miscellaneous line (commissioners asked staff to start with $500 as a placeholder) so truly unpredictable small expenses are not covered by repeatedly shifting funds between existing lines. - Separate adult misdemeanor revenue and expense tracking from juvenile budgets. Commissioners asked the clerk’s office and department staff to consider a distinct sub-organization or revenue code for adult misdemeanor fee revenue so accounting and reporting are straightforward while preserving limits on juvenile-designated funds. - Review cell-phone plans with county IT/finance (staff were directed to check with Bob in county IT about potential savings by switching to FirstNet or renegotiating rates). - Prepare a multi-year actuals summary for contract revenue (housing other counties’ youth) and present a conservative projected revenue number for the budget.

Quotes “we do have 2 distinct budgets... they are totally different and distinct budgets,” Director Schulz said during the workshop when explaining why probation and detention must be budgeted separately.

“state statute allows us to charge up to $75 per month,” Jen said when explaining adult misdemeanor cost-of-supervision authority; she added that local judges currently set that fee at $35 per month.

Budget context and constraints Staff and commissioners repeatedly said past practice—moving dollars between lines or relying on off-budget carryover—made it hard to know true operating costs. The workshop emphasized building a foundation budget that anticipates likely costs (by listing units and math) and keeps county general fund support and restricted juvenile funds properly segregated.

What happens next Department staff will supply the requested line-item math, move supporting text into the main justification fields, add the requested contingency line, and work with the clerk/treasurer on whether a separate sub-org or revenue code for adult misdemeanor fees is the best long-run approach. Commissioners said they expect a follow-up budget meeting after staff updates.

No formal motions or votes were recorded during the workshop portion reviewed in the transcript.