Kootenai County solid waste department details FY26 budget, requests two new technician positions

John Phillips, director of Kootenai County Solid Waste, and Angela Fusier, the department's business and finance manager, presented the department's proposed FY26 budget at the May 7 Board of County Commissioners meeting. The department requested an overall B-budget of $12,835,814, with fuel and hauling accounting for $7,250,204 of that total. Phillips and Fusier asked the board to forward the budget to the auditors for review.

Fusier said the department's revenue picture improved after a rate increase that took effect Jan. 1, but property-tax embedded fees for homeowners will not appear until the next property tax bill. She described the enterprise fund structure and explained a $935,138 interfund transfer to pay county-shared services such as IT, HR and sheriff patrols at rural sites.

The presentation detailed personnel requests for two new solid-waste technician positions to staff two seven-days-a-week rural operations: the new Wolf Lodge rural site and an "express" household drop-off area at the Ramsey Transfer Station. Fusier said the Ramsey express area has exceeded 200 visits per day since it opened May 1 and will be staffed seasonally April through October. She estimated loaded hiring costs at current pay step projections and said wage placement could vary by candidate experience.

On operations and capital, Fusier said the large portion of the B budget is hauling and fuel. She budgeted diesel at $3.50 per gallon on average for FY26 (down from $4.00 used in FY25 planning) and estimated a 3.2 percent increase overall driven in part by contract hauling increases. She called out a 346 percent increase in inspections and licensing driven by a new annual fee for the landfill's tier 1 gas-emissions permitting. Major capital requests include a landfill compactor budgeted at roughly $1,400,000 and approximately $4,000,000 for closure material and engineering to cover about 12 acres. Fusier also outlined routine capital needs such as transfer trailers, a forklift replacement and improvements at the Ramsey transfer station; she said many projects will be funded with FY25 carry-forward funds.

Commissioners provided consensus support to forward the department's packet to the auditors for their review and for the department to continue budget development. Fusier said she would bring the positions and any wage adjustments back to the board if hired at a higher step.

The presentation contained multiple clarifying details about revenue timing, the enterprise fund interfund charges, and the timing and justification for capital items. Commissioners asked follow-up questions about staffing coverage, compactor life-cycle and the Wolf Lodge site's fire-district status; Fusier said she would email confirmation about the fire district.

The board did not take a formal roll-call vote at the meeting; commissioners indicated assent and directed staff to proceed to the auditor review.