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Bannock County commissioners keep nonprofit funding in-house, defer decision on United Way role
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Summary
Commissioners reviewed nonprofit funding and whether to use United Way as a fiscal agent, but agreed to keep the county disbursing funds this budget year for transparency and timing reasons and to reevaluate a possible hybrid or third‑party approach next year.
Bannock County commissioners on an unspecified date discussed whether to continue distributing taxpayer funds to local nonprofits directly or to outsource that work to a third party such as United Way, ultimately agreeing to maintain the county’s current disbursement process for this budget year and revisit the issue next year.
The discussion, led by Speaker 1 (Commissioner), centered on two groups of nonprofit recipients: organizations providing indigent or court‑mandated services (shelter, meals, victim services) and community‑oriented programs (senior centers, Meals on Wheels, historical societies, veterans groups in Lava and Downey). Speaker 1 said they had met with several nonprofit contacts and reviewed each organization’s merits before weighing whether to change the distribution process.
Christy, a county staff member, described the practical side of the existing system. She said recurring entries automatically generate invoice payments and that keeping the county’s office issuing checks preserves transparency about who is paid: “For our office, it’s super easy… the benefit of us keeping the donations that are contributions that we make, it shows transparency as to who we’re paying,” she said.
Commissioners discussed using United Way as a fiscal agent. Speaker 1 said they had raised the idea with United Way but flagged concerns about budgetary timing and the loss of line‑item transparency if the county wrote a single large check to United Way. “Those are donations. Ours are tax dollars. And I take it very personal that… our staff is responsible to take tax dollars and sometimes redirect them,” Speaker 1 said, urging caution before ceding control over county funds.
Another commissioner, Speaker 3, questioned whether the board was spending too much time on nonprofit allocations instead of focusing on county employee wages, noting employees are also taxpayers. “We spend more time talking about nonprofits than we do about wages for our own employees,” Speaker 3 said, urging the board to be critical about where money goes.
Speaker 4 (Chair) said United Way has broad community support and a solid process and framed the idea as a way to simplify county administration, but added that it was not worth fighting over immediately. Ultimately, the board decided not to adopt a structural change in this budget cycle. Speaker 4 announced the county will continue its current process for the present year and evaluate whether to change the approach next year.
No formal motion or vote on changing the funding process was recorded during the discussion. The meeting moved on and was adjourned without action on outsourcing nonprofit disbursements.
What happens next: Commissioners will maintain the current county‑managed disbursement system for this budget year and said they will re‑examine the possibility of a hybrid approach or a fiscal‑agent arrangement with United Way during future budget planning.
