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 the jail (out of 131 positions), 11 in 911 (out of 34 positions) and seven prosecutors' office openings (out of 51 positions).

Hayden contract. Commissioners discussed a law-enforcement contract with the City of Hayden during deliberations. Commissioner Eberlein said the county had not executed a continuing multi-year contract and that a supplemental-terms page in a draft agreement explicitly states the supplemental terms "expire on 09/30/2025 unless extended or modified in writing by both part parties." Eberlein said counsel recommended treating the supplemental terms as prevailing and that the county therefore did not have an automatic renewal.

Because Hayden’s published budget numbers changed during the discussion (the county’s packet reflected $1,390,000 earlier; the city later published $1,049,000), commissioners said it was prudent not to appropriate funds for Hayden-specific dedicated deputies until there is a clear, written agreement. County finance staff said moving the dedicated-Hayden appropriations back into the sheriff’s general-patrol budget would require using about $1 million from fund balance if Hayden did not finalize a contract; staff said unanticipated revenues and fund-balance reserves could cover that gap if necessary. Commissioners directed staff to move Hayden-dedicated appropriations into the sheriff’s patrol accounts pending a negotiated contract.

License-plate readers. License-plate readers (ALPRs) were a major subject of public testimony. Two commissioners — Eberlein and Duncan — gave staff direction earlier in the meeting to remove funding for ALPRs from the FY26 budget. The chair later announced at the start of the public comment segment that "the license plate readers were removed out of the budget. The funding for that was removed out of the budget." Dozens of residents spoke in public testimony, overwhelmingly urging the commissioners not to authorize ALPRs; many cited privacy, constitutional and security concerns.

Several residents also pressed for assurances on data handling. County staff said the county would not pay the vendor (Motorola or related software) after December under the current arrangement, and that the plate-recognition feature would be disabled when the contract expires; the cameras would remain available as ordinary in-car video but plate-reading functionality would not continue without an approved contract.

Other budget decisions and direction. Commissioners instructed staff to temporarily move funding for two items into a mid-year pool: sheriff's longevity pay and a commercial-appraiser position in the assessor’s office, to allow time for additional presentations and analysis. The board also approved a 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment included in the published budget and adopted the package as presented after those direction changes.

Votes at a glance - Aquifer Protection District FY26 budget: approved unanimously (motion moved by Commissioner Duncan, all three commissioners voted aye). - Kootenai County EMS FY26 budget: approved unanimously (motion moved by Commissioner Eberlein, all three commissioners voted aye). - Kootenai County FY26 budget (general government and solid waste): adopted unanimously (motion to fix and determine the FY26 budget; all three commissioners voted aye).

Commissioners closed public testimony and adopted the budgets by roll-call vote. County staff and the finance director were thanked by the board for preparing the budget materials; staff will post adopted budget documents on the county website.