County officials: Ad on budget misleading

An advertisement published in the May 5 Flatlander by the Boundary County Property Owners assocation is misleading, said the county’s elected officials.

The numbers do not reflect what people are paying for property taxes, but revenue generated from other sources, they said.

“When people make statements like that when they don't know or understand the budgeting process and what goes into it, it can be very misleading,” commission chair Ron Smith said.

“The fact is, Boundary County government is and has been very frugal with tax dollars, and we go to great lengths to see that every dollar is used wisely.”

Although the county's overall budget has increased 55 percent in the last five years, does not mean local government is out of control, Smith said.

It actually shows its success in bringing in funding from outside sources for local improvements, he said.

“We've been very successful in getting grants,” said Clerk Glenda Poston. “In setting our budget, we have to account for all the grants we receive before we can use the grant funding, so that raises the amount of the total budget. It doesn't reflect an increase in cost to the local taxpayer.”

Among grants she pointed out received recently by the county were the $267,146 Energy Efficiency block grants awarded in late January to the cities of Bonners Ferry and Moyie Springs, Boundary County Restorium and Boundary Community Hospital; $175,601 awarded the Sheriff’s Office for implementing an emergency 911 system, and $1.9 million received by the county for improvements at the airport, mostly from the federal government and only two percent from Idaho.

In addition, the $ 4million County Road and Bridge Budget is funded entirely through federal and state grants, not through property taxes.

“Boundary County has never levied for Road and Bridge,” Poston said. “These are by no means all the grants we've applied for and received, just the ones I've been working on lately.”

While amounts levied in property taxes have increased over the years, according to the Flatlander, the percentage of the total budget funded by property tax dollars has actually dropped significantly. In 2006, property taxes funded 35 percent of the total county budget. In 2010, it is 28 percent.

“I think that's significant,” Smith said. “Despite the tough economic times and the rising cost of everything, we've been able to keep important projects moving forward while keeping a rein on property taxes.”

Assessor Dave Ryals siad the county is very limited in its ability to raise local property taxes.

“Commissioners have gone out of their way to find funds for maintaining local government,” he said.

 “By law, we are limited to a three percent increase on the property tax levy plus new construction,” he said.

“If you see the budget go up by more than three percent, it means there's been a lot of new construction or commissioners were successful in finding money from outside sources. The budget went up, but other revenue sources are paying for it … not the local taxpayer.”