Bonner County EMS faces budget shortfall, commissioners set Jan. 7 public briefing and Jan. 19 rate hearing

Bonner County’s ambulance director told the Board of Commissioners that the Ambulance District is wrestling with a cash shortfall and staffing losses that could require further short-term borrowing, prompting the board to request a public briefing and more concrete budget projections.

Chief Lindsey, who runs the Ambulance District, said the department’s cash position was “about $697,000” and that three payroll periods remained before the district would receive the next large payment. He summarized projected near-term cash flows and billing revenue, saying, “if you run those, we have 3 left…we should be looking at about a 120,000 in billing revenue” and that the net available cash would be “about 300,000 roughly to hold us over” into late January. He also said several staff members were leaving or had job offers, and that layoffs could be avoided if employees accepted positions elsewhere.

Commissioners and several public speakers repeatedly pressed Lindsey for a clearer plan. Commissioner Williams asked for specifics and paced the timeline: “When can the board see what your plan is?” After back-and-forth about spreadsheets and reconciliations with county accounting staff, Lindsey and county financial staff agreed the Ambulance District would present a detailed public update at the board’s Jan. 7 meeting and that a public hearing on proposed fee changes was scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 19 at 10 a.m., according to staff announcements during the meeting.

Public commenters urged urgency. Resident Merlin Glass said the problem is a service-delivery crisis: “You really got a crisis here, I think, is this delivery of service that the citizens expect.” Longtime critic Dave Bowman told the board Lindsey’s responses were inadequate and pressed for firm answers sooner: “You should have had a plan. You should have been forthcoming, and it should not have been up to the board to provide him with a date when he had to come and provide that information.” Other speakers criticized the pace and magnitude of the proposed fee increases and warned of ripple effects for volunteer fire departments and county emergency response.

County auditing and treasury staff told the board they were finalizing reconciled figures and urged the Ambulance District to provide formal, written draw requests if it needs to access the county’s short-term note (TAN). Treasurer Clarissa (last name not specified in the record) said she requires a written request with at least two days’ lead time to process any TAN withdrawal.

Chief Lindsey said he was relying on the county comptroller to verify cash-flow starting points before preparing multi-year projections. “Her numbers were correct,” he said of the comptroller’s figures, and he agreed to present the reconciled projections to the public at the Jan. 7 board meeting so the community can review staffing scenarios, reserve projections and any further borrowing needs.

Board members directed county staff and the Ambulance District to finalize reconciled cash projections and to make the Jan. 7 briefing specific about: projected ending cash balances, payroll and overtime assumptions, expected billing receipts, and possible staffing scenarios that would change personnel costs. The commissioners said they would expect a public presentation that shows at least a three-year projection and the timeline for any additional budget or levy requests.

The board did not take a formal vote on EMS policy or funding at the meeting; instead it set the scheduling and requested detailed fiscal projections to inform possible future decisions.