Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sheriff's jail medical contract and other operational costs drive large FY26 increases
Summary
Kootenai County staff identified a $1.3 million increase in jail medical costs as the primary driver of a $1.6 million rise in the sheriff's jail budget, alongside near-$1 million health-insurance growth and several equipment and non-capital requests for the sheriff's office and 911 functions.
County budget staff told commissioners that the sheriff's FY26 detention (jail) budget would increase by about $1,600,000 from the prior year, driven chiefly by a $1,300,000 increase in jail medical services. Brandy Falcon said that amount reflects both next year's contract pricing and shortfalls carried forward from the current year.
Falcon also reported a near-$1,000,000 increase in general-government health insurance costs (listed as $967,000) that countywide will add to personnel cost pressure. In the sheriff’s operations, staff identified additional increases for food services ($52,000), hospital/healthcare professionals ($40,000), medication ($200,000) and housing supplies ($45,000) in the detention budget summary.
Separately, the packet included numerous non-capital and equipment requests tied to public safety: WatchGuard body-worn cameras, radios for enhanced 911 and the jail, a proposed new canine (partially offset with donations), SCRAM ankle monitors for pretrial or furlough monitoring, portable cardiac monitors, AEDs and respirators. Staff flagged an enhanced-911 non-capital request totaling roughly $234,000 (radios, dispatch chairs and related equipment) and an AMP (911) radios request estimated at $119,000.
County staff also described planned purchases in FY26 for AMP/PD such as a five-year taser contract reflected in a roughly $69,000 B-budget increase and a fleet of radios for patrol and detectives. Departments asked the board whether some items could be funded from fund balance (nonrecurring) or via interest income counted in the FY26 budget; commissioners discussed using interest for selected one-time purchases while reserving ongoing revenue for recurring costs such as steps and COLA.
Undersheriff Nelson told the board the sheriff's office had prioritized its requests and would work with the commissioners if the board wanted personnel retained over certain equipment. The sheriff’s staff also indicated willingness to track Hayden-specific overtime and other operational expenses separately to support more precise cost allocation to contracts.
Ending: Commissioners instructed staff to continue prioritizing public-safety equipment requests, confirm where items can be funded from fund balance vs ongoing revenue, and return with prioritized lists that show cumulative cost impact for final FY26 decisions.
