Bonner County commissioners press fair board for budget transparency, one-page plan and use of Munis for levied funds

Bonner County commissioners and the county fair manager debated the fairgrounds’ budget and planning needs Tuesday, focusing on whether to make a recent $20,000-to-$40,000 levy increase permanent, how levied funds are tracked, and the fair board’s obligation to deliver a short strategic plan for facilities and revenue by a near-term deadline.

The discussion began when Mark Knapp, fair manager, presented a multi-year spreadsheet showing FY2024, FY2025 proposed and FY2026 projections and said the county provided $210,000 in levied funds for the current fiscal year and that the fair’s enterprise revenues (sponsorships and event income) remain difficult to reconcile until after the August fair and related events. “Right now…we're projecting because a lot of our enterprise funds…we really don't reconcile and know what our actuals will be for 2025 on our enterprise funds going into 2026 until pretty much FY '26 starts on October 1,” Knapp said.

Commissioners pressed for clearer accounting and public visibility before approving any permanent levy increase. Commissioner Williams said community members have raised questions about how levy money is spent and asked the fair board to show line-item spending that…