Commissioners host town hall to discuss issues

BONNERS FERRY — Boundary County commissioners hosted a town hall Jan. 18 to share the work they have done the past year and to explain how tax dollars are spent and the different functions of county departments. 

Approximately 31 people attended last month’s meeting at the Veterans Memorial Hall at the Boundary County Fairgrounds. 

The commissioners explained the limitations within the position, and that they do not preside over other elected officials, such as the sheriff and assessor. 

The commissioners explained that although the county budget may be $30 million, that doesn’t mean the county has $30 million. County income is anticipated and not necessarily guaranteed, due to much of it coming from grants, and state and federal funding. Approximately $5 million is levied locally annually. 

Commissioner Ben Robertson explained that if the money isn’t budgeted in anticipated income, then the county can’t use the money. 

Commissioner Chair Tim Bertling said when he first joined the board, the Road and Bridge department had dump trucks that were 20 years old. 

“You can’t maintain roads without good equipment,” he said. Two newer dump trucks have been purchased since then. Bertling added commissioners are putting emphasis on county roads and being efficient with roads and getting them plowed and chip sealed. 

R&B efficiency has helped add office staff, which keeps employees answering phones as well as out on the roads. Another difficulty has been getting new employees trained and familiar with the roads and trucks. 

Turning to solid waste management, Bertling said the goal is extending the life of the landfill.

“We are looking at getting an air curtain burning for wood waste,” he said. He said down the road the county could get the air curtain permitted to create biochar out of wood waste. 

In partnership with the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, the county is looking into food composting which could be used to make soil amendments. The project is in its early stages, county officials said.

Solid Waste Department Superintendent Richard Jenkins said food waste can account for 56% of all solid waste. Depending on the composter, the food composting project could function through the winter. 

When it comes to glass, currently the county is not recycling it due to the regional recycling facility no longer offering the service. Bertling said the county is also exploring how glass can be turned back into sand to be used for roads or at the landfill, noting that statistically one person in the U.S. uses 80 pounds of glass a year. 

Solid waste management has become more efficient. The landfill is allowed 20 tons a day. 

Bertling said the county is meeting with the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality to access the life of the landfill. He assured the landfill has many more years. 

The county has updated many of its roll-off dumpsters to compactors. 

Jenkins said before at the Naples collection site the roll-offs were averaging five to 10 trips a day to the landfill.
“Now with compactors, we are down to four trips a week,” he said. “We have a large saving on diesel fuel and man hours. Now being able to utilize our staff in the landfill to take care of other issues.”

For parks and recreation, at Riverfront Park five additional acres have been acquired by the county and will be added to the park. The long-term plan of the Parks and Recreation Board is to add a designated area for a drifting dock, and a lower dock for smaller boats and kayaks. 

The county is still in the process of getting bathrooms at parks and recreation by the fairgrounds. The project was budgeted for $250,000, but bids came in around $1 million.

Instead, the county is looking at prefabricated buildings for toilets. 

The Boundary County Skatepark Alliance has raised $10,000 to go toward grant matching for a new skatepark. The commissioners have offered to write a letter of support for the project. 

The Restorium is a nursing home run and owned by the county. Bertling said the long-term goal is to make the Restorium self-sufficient. In 2023 rates were raised for residents. Before COVID-19 there were about 38 residents, now the resident population has bounced back. 

Jim Woodward commented that the Restorium is a treasure for the community, by having a locally run nursing home, rather than one run by a corporation. 

Robertson said legally the Restorium can’t charge out-of-county residents more than in-county residents. 

In regards to the Boundary County Sheriff's Office, the sheriff sets his own budget. 

“We’ve always supported our own law enforcement as much as possible,” Bertling said. 

The jail received a new roof last year, after much difficulty finding a contractor to do the job. 

In regards to improving the jail, remodeling is estimated at $9 million and a new jail is estimated at $11 million. Currently, 28 men and 11 women can be housed at the jail. 

Robertson said the county can run a bond to build a jail, but that no one wants to have their property taxes go up, him included. There is possible legislation this year that would allow counties to run a local option tax that could go toward a new jail.

“If that’s how you want to fund a jail, or by way of a bond, or not at all,” he said. “It comes down to if you want a jail, not if we [the commissioners] want one. There is no cost-effective solution to build a jail.” 

In response to the suggestion that the county should look into housing federal inmates, whose incarceration are paid for with federal funds, Bertling responded that the county is not guaranteed those inmates and empty beds would cost local taxpayers. 

For federal inmates, beds must be reserved for them. 

Election integrity was also discussed, with resident Dave Ingle claiming there were hundreds of people improperly listed on the voter rolls, as many have moved out of the county or are deceased, based on his research. 

“Our elections are sound, I’m confident in that,” Bertling said. “We are not like other states that have had problems. I’ve never been able to vote without showing my ID, even though I’ve known the poll worker for 30 or 40 years.” 

Ingle has attempted to remove over 1,4000 names removed from the voter polls, who have either been moved or died. 

Robertson asked if any of the ineligible voters had voted. They had not. 

The county will be putting a camera pointed at the absentee ballot box located at the courthouse. 

Traffic tickets and how they fund the sheriff’s office were also discussed. Bertling said for every ticket issued the BCSO receives $5, and the rest goes to the court. Police departments receive more money back 

Of tickets issued in the state, 22.5% goes to public schools, 45% goes to the highway, 8.6% goes to the state’s general fund, 1.4% goes to the police fund and  22.5% goes to the district court, he said. 

If someone is ticketed in the city, about 90% go to the city.

“Our deputies are peace officers, they are not money makers for the county,” Bertling said. 

Robertson said this was news to him when he became commissioner. 

“Hopefully we helped some people understand that we don’t have control over some things, like the golf course and the hospital,” Commissioner Wally Cossairt said.

When asked why the town hall took place, Bertling said it was to get information out and clear up misconceptions. 

“And to tell county residents what we are doing and the direction we are going,” he said. “We’re not sitting back for a paycheck and making a possible change.”

He added that the town hall went better than expected. 

Robertson said a major reason for hosting the town hall was comments he received during his campaign that many voters wanted to know the ins and outs of government and how tax dollars are spent. 

He agreed with the other commissioners that the meeting went great and that there were many questions asked that he hadn’t thought about and there were community members that knew more on some topics than he did. 

    Commissioners (left) Wally Cossairt and Ben Robertson at the commissioner town hall on Jan. 18.