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Commissioners press sheriff's office on cost-sharing with small towns and parks
Summary
During the budget review, commissioners asked whether contracts with municipalities and park districts should include inflation adjustments and clearer usage-based billing; sheriff's staff said most contracts bill by calls or hours and do not guarantee set hours.
Bonner County commissioners questioned whether the sheriff's office should seek inflation adjustments or clearer hourly guarantees in its contracts with small towns and park entities.
The meeting named Clark Fork, Oldtown, Dover and park contracts such as Albany Falls Dam and Park check agreements as examples. Sheriff's Office staff told commissioners that many contracts bill by number of calls or overtime hours rather than guaranteeing a set number of patrol hours; that arrangement allows the county to bill for overtime when needed but means annual revenue from those contracts can be small. The sheriff's office also said it can include municipal names on citations so towns collect additional revenue, but overall the contracts have historically been a 'flat line' contribution rather than a major revenue source.
Commissioners argued that steady county cost increases (fuel, maintenance, personnel) make it reasonable to build an inflationary component into contracts so municipalities share rising costs. Others cautioned that asking for increases can create expectations of more guaranteed service; the sheriff's office said staffing limits constrain the amount of service it can promise.
Ending: Commissioners directed staff to add notes in budget records identifying which entities each law-enforcement contract covers so future reviews clearly show historical billing and facilitate discussions about equitable cost-sharing.
