Bonner County commissioners review facilities budget; staff to supply line‑item details and building check for Lilybrook

Bonner County commissioners and facilities staff reviewed proposed 2026 facilities budget lines at a May 27 budget workshop, discussing possible reductions to registration and dues, office‑supply and cell‑phone lines, maintenance for generators and repairs for the newly transferred Lilybrook building. No formal votes were taken; staff were asked to provide detailed cost breakdowns and a short building inspection before finalizing the budget.

The discussion opened with a proposal from facilities staff to cut the historical $500 fees-and-registration line to $100. Teddy, facilities staff, said, “I feel like we can drop it to a hundred. I pay dues for my NIGA, my IPPA, and a partial portion of the yearly fee for Amazon out of that.” Commissioner Williams asked staff to list the specific dues and dollar amounts that come from the line so the change is justified.

Staff also told commissioners the county’s Amazon account, NIGA and IPPA dues and other small subscriptions are charged from that line. Facilities staff said the Amazon account is split between departments that use it and that the exact annual Amazon cost is not a fixed single number but can be estimated.

Commissioners pressed for clearer line‑item justifications across the facilities budget. For supplies, Teddy explained a $1,900 revolving office‑supplies line that buys a pallet of paper and is charged back to departments via quarterly GL adjustments. Commissioners asked that the budget text note the pallet‑of‑paper practice and how departments are charged.

On cell‑phone costs, staff said a line for cell phone usage (object code 6900) is currently budgeted at $850 and recommended it be reduced to zero because the facilities phones are now paid from other department budgets. Commissioner Williams requested that be noted in the budget text.

Commissioners and staff reviewed maintenance and repair lines. Facilities staff reported generator maintenance is done annually in September by Western States; current repair spending is seasonal and historically low. The Sheriff’s Complex generator remains under warranty until September; staff said other generators are older but have low runtime and are expected to remain serviceable for several years with routine maintenance.

Lilybrook, a recently transferred property, drew particular attention. Commissioner Williams noted the deed “just came through” last week and asked for a brief building inspection before final budget adoption. Teddy said routine preventive maintenance has been performed and that one new air‑conditioning unit was installed last spring; staff will arrange a high‑level condition review and flag any capital needs.

Snow‑removal, vehicle fuel and vehicle repair lines were discussed at length. Facilities staff proposed lowering snow‑removal funding for justice services to $10,000 based on recent usage and three‑year trends; commissioners cautioned about underestimating costs in an unusually severe winter. For vehicle fuel, one commissioner recommended leaving the gasoline line at $7,000 rather than reducing it to $6,000 because of volatility in global oil markets.

Commissioners asked that several contract and miscellaneous lines include vendor names and current contract amounts. Staff agreed to insert amounts for FirePro (fire monitoring), CH2O (cooling tower service) and Sunbelt (HVAC service), and to show anticipated inflation (staff suggested a possible 15% contingency) when contract renewals could raise costs.

Other directions from the workshop included: moving certain small equipment purchases (vacuum/scrubber) into a tools and small‑equipment line for consistency; documenting anticipated counts and unit prices for small assets (for example, vacuums and phone accessories); and creating a capital‑improvement planning line so remaining year‑end maintenance funds can be banked toward projects such as a parking‑lot repair near a storm pond.

No motions or formal votes were recorded during the facilities review. Commissioners repeatedly instructed staff to provide greater detail and supporting figures (vendor contracts, item counts and estimated unit costs) so the board can justify each line before adopting the final budget.

Teddy and county staff were directed to return to the board with the requested line‑item costs, contract amounts and a brief building condition assessment for Lilybrook to ensure capital needs are captured in next year’s budget planning.