Bonner County approves amended Sandpoint municipal prosecutor contract; commissioners call for fee review

The Bonner County Board of Commissioners on Nov. 18 approved a first amendment to the county's municipal prosecution contract with the City of Sandpoint and authorized the chair to sign the agreement administratively.

Prosecutor Nate Adams told the board that Idaho law allows counties to contract with cities for prosecution of infractions and misdemeanors and that the Sandpoint arrangement is provided at a deeply discounted rate to the city. Adams said the county's existing staffing allows the office to handle Sandpoint cases without increasing county manpower because court proceedings for Sandpoint and county cases are routinely bunched together.

Commissioners and members of the public urged a follow-up review of the fee. One commissioner said she would meet with the Sandpoint mayor and police chief to negotiate a more palatable number, and the board discussed doing a caseload analysis next year to determine a fair contract value. Resident Wayne Martin urged commissioners not to use caseload alone as the determinant, saying low caseload this year could rise in future years. Resident Fred Arnn questioned the distribution of traffic-ticket revenue between city and county and suggested shifting more receipts to the county.

The board moved to approve the contract amendment; the motion passed on a roll call vote.

Next steps: commissioners asked the prosecutor's office to work with Sandpoint leadership and with the board on a fee review in the coming fiscal year and to return with data from a caseload analysis that the county's software now makes possible.

Vote details: Motion to approve the contract amendment was moved and seconded and passed by roll call during the meeting.