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Bonner County discusses moving dues and tuition reimbursements out of education line
Summary
County commissioners reviewed the general fund education line and agreed to create a separate dues-and-memberships GL, stop using the education line for tuition reimbursements, and ask staff to pursue removing an optional NACo charge from the IAC invoice.
Bonner County commissioners met June 2 to review general-fund budget lines tied to education, dues and memberships and historical tuition reimbursements.
The board focused on separating recurring dues and memberships from the education line and on ending use of the general-education account for employee tuition reimbursement. County staff said the education line historically included tuition reimbursements—notably EMS paramedic school payments in prior years—that inflated historical totals to about $62,000 in some years. Staff also reported this year’s dues-and-fees activity has already used about $23,000 of the line.
Why it matters: commissioners said departmental education needs should be budgeted within each department going forward, rather than paid from a central general-fund education account, and that dues should be visible in a dedicated GL so duplicative payments can be avoided.
On membership charges, staff said one recent invoice from the Idaho Association of Counties (IAC) included three items: annual dues, a National Association of Counties (NACo) add-on and several assessments (litigation fund, natural resources). The NACo add-on is voluntary and runs about $938 annually in the county’s invoice; commissioners asked staff to contact IAC to request removal of that optional NACo charge. Staff agreed to open the invoice and attempt to identify departmental attributions so costs can be delineated rather than all billed to the county general line.
Commissioners also directed that the proper GL be added for dues and memberships and that the education line be drawn down accordingly so it no longer funds tuition reimbursements. Staff noted that, historically, tuition reimbursements included EMS paramedic training and that the county no longer funds paramedic school from general funds.
The discussion included consolidation suggestions for employee recognition and other HR-related items currently scattered across budgets; commissioners asked staff to propose moving recognition and similar costs into HR’s budget. Staff flagged that some legacy items are held in the education/general fund because of historical accounting practice and that deleting zero-dollar legacy budget lines would remove historical audit trails unless an archival process is used.
Ending: Staff will open the IAC invoice to try to identify departmental charges, add a dedicated dues-and-memberships GL, propose consolidation of recognition costs into HR, and pursue removal of the optional NACo charge. No formal vote was recorded in this session.
