Kootenai County fixes FY26 budget after hours of deliberations; commissioners remove license-plate reader funding and shift Hayden contract items pending renegt

The Kootenai County Board of Commissioners adopted the county’s fiscal year 2026 budget on Aug. 27 and, during deliberations, directed staff to remove license-plate-reader funding from the proposed budget and to move appropriations tied to a disputed contract with the City of Hayden back into the sheriff’s patrol budget until a written contract is agreed.

The adopted countywide FY26 budget totals $144,950,461, with $119,000,000 in the general-government portion and a separate $25,000,000 enterprise budget for solid waste. County staff said property-tax revenue in the proposed budget was $64,398,070 (the presentation showed the board adopting a 2.5% levy increase scenario), while non-property sources — including fees, fund balances and interest — make up the remainder of the plan.

Brandy Falcon, the county finance director, told the board the budget was built from requests submitted by nine elected officials and described personnel as the largest cost driver: personnel accounts for roughly 60–65% of the general-government budget. Falcon also summarized staffing vacancies at the time the budget was prepared: 65 open positions countywide, including 18 openings in…