Bonner County commissioners rejected a proposed year-end budget cleanup that would have used $41,606.34 from the county's general fund statutory contingency to cover five budget overages identified after year-end accruals.

Jessica, the county comptroller in the clerk's office, told the board that the health district's revised budget and the county's increased contribution were not communicated to the clerk's office by the prior board or prior staff, leaving the county underbudgeted for that line. "The clerk's office wasn't technically invited to the meeting with Panhandle Health that discussed their budget," she said, and staff only learned of the higher contribution after the fiscal year budget was set.

Several commissioners pressed for clearer documentation before approving a transfer. One commissioner said they were "not confident on the way this is written up," and asked for more detail about why the clerk's office did not receive notice. Another commissioner said the transfer must be done but suggested moving forward while continuing to investigate the cause; the board agreed the matter required closer review.

A motion to authorize the specific line-item transfers and open the purchasing budgets was moved and seconded but failed on the roll call vote. The chair said the item will return to a future meeting next week for additional information and possible reconsideration.

Why it matters: the proposed transfer would have used a statutory contingency reserve to correct accounting shortfalls before auditors close the year. Commissioners debated the tradeoffs between meeting a year-end deadline for accruals and ensuring the board's records and memo language accurately reflect how the overages occurred.

The board did not adopt the resolution at this meeting; staff were directed to provide clearer documentation of the overages and communications that led to them, and to bring the item back for further consideration.