Bonner County ambulance board presses for clearer governance, regular budget and staffing reports

Commissioner Domke and other members of the Bonner County Ambulance Service District board used a regularly scheduled meeting to press for clearer governance, weekly reporting and legal review after community members raised concerns about missing agenda items, personnel moves and the district's budget position.

The discussion centered on three immediate items: establishing a consistent agenda and reporting process for the newly separate ambulance district, clarifying whether county ordinances or state statute define the district's legal status, and getting precise budget and insurance information to the board and public. Commissioner Domke said, "I will personally apologize for the fact that those items were not included on the agenda," and asked for a template of information the ambulance district should provide at every meeting.

Why it matters: the board is overseeing an ambulance district that for years was treated operationally as a county department; board members and residents said that history has produced confusion about property ownership, personnel authority and which office should provide legal counsel. Resolving those issues affects who can sign contracts, what the district owns, how insurance and risk are handled and how quickly budget fixes can be made.

Key details and public questions

- Claims and short-term cash: Sarah Nixon of the Clerk's Office asked the board to approve "claims batch 19 totaling $51,257.94 with the biggest expense in here being a $22,000 workmen's comp payment." The board approved payment of the claims and earlier approved the consent agenda; a separate motion to adopt the meeting agenda also passed by roll call.

- Cash balance disclosed: Stephanie (county staff) reported, "EMS's cash balance as of today is about 2,090,000 and then there's $91,000 give or take a few hundred dollars in uncleared checks." That figure was cited during public comment as the board discussed options for short-term financing and a possible tax anticipation note (TAN).

- Workers' compensation and insurance: Board members asked whether the ambulance district's workers' compensation insurance is billed through SIF as a quarterly premium. Staff confirmed the annual premium is roughly $80,000 and the $22,000 entry in the claims batch is a routine quarterly payment; quarterly audits can add a fifth payment depending on payroll audit results.

- Personnel moves and staffing model: Board members and residents pressed for a clearer explanation of recent personnel changes. Staff explained that when an employee (Janessa) vacated a position, another employee (Zach) moved into the vacated slot and some previously budgeted positions were deactivated; staff said three positions have been removed from the budget so far. The meeting revisited an earlier presentation in which Chief Lindsey had said the district had more paramedics than its stated operational need; after attrition the district had reportedly been "6 paramedics over" and later "3 paramedics over" the target. Commissioners said promotions and title changes (including a 3-cent-per-hour step adjustment for one employee to fit a grade step) created community confusion because the board had not been briefed before personnel changes were made.

- Legal and ordinance questions: Several participants noted the county ordinance language uses the term "department" in places where state statute defines the ambulance service as a district. Mr. Bowman (fire district representative) and members of the board said the inconsistency has contributed to decades of operational entanglement and recommended a line-by-line review of the ordinance, with legal counsel guidance and amendments where needed.

- Risk management and property ownership: Staff and commissioners discussed contact with the county risk carrier (transcribed variously as ICRAB/ICRMP). County staff recommended preparing a resolution or list to transfer EMS-owned equipment (ambulances, AEDs) formally to the ambulance district and to clarify which buildings or assets are owned by the county vs. the district. The board agreed to seek legal advice and possibly to identify outside counsel for the district, because the county's regular counsel may present a conflict.

Board direction and next steps

Board members agreed to change the ambulance-district meeting process to give the public regular updates and to treat the weekly meeting more like a standing workshop focused on a single topic (for example: personnel, insurance, legal review, or property). Commissioner Domke proposed building a task list of items, assigning milestones and setting return dates; she asked other commissioners to identify which departments should present at future meetings so the board can "untangle" county services that support EMS.

The board asked for next-week agenda items to include a personnel review and staffing model explanation, an insurance update, a legal update on counsel and ordinance language, and a budget-status report (including cash on hand and projected need for any TAN). Christian Johnson (county staff) suggested using a project-management-style task list so support departments can report progress between meetings.

Votes at the meeting

- Motion to adopt the order of the agenda: approved (roll-call, yes: 3, no: 0, abstain: 0). The mover/second were not specified in the public transcript.

- Motion to approve the consent agenda: approved (vote recorded as passing; individual mover/second not specified in transcript).

- Motion to approve payment of FY '25 Bonner County Ambulance Service District claims (Batch 19) totaling $51,257.94: approved (roll-call; tally recorded as passing; mover/second not specified in the public record).

Ending

The board and staff committed to producing a clear agenda template and a task list for future meetings, to seek legal guidance on the ordinance and property issues, and to present detailed budget and staffing metrics at the next meeting so commissioners and the public can track progress. Residents and several emergency-service representatives asked the board to post budget documents and meeting materials publicly so the community can follow changes to staffing, insurance and assets.