BoCo Ambulance District approves $5M budget

By Soncirey Mitchell
Reader Staff

The Bonner County board of commissioners, serving as the Ambulance Service District Board, voted Aug. 20 to adopt the Bonner County Ambulance Service District’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget of $5,323,976.

The independent taxing district previously took out a tax anticipation note of $2 million to keep emergency services operational while officials sorted out financial issues with roots back to the district’s foundation. The county discovered in 2024 that the district had been incorrectly operating as a county department, rather than an independent entity, since its inception in 2005. Because of that, the BOCC, Clerk’s Office and BCASD Chief Jeff Lindsey had to begin the process of extricating the district from the county, making it financially independent.

BCASD continues to implement cost-saving measures in an attempt to build back $2 million in reserve to fund everyday operations and account for emergency expenses. The district removed five full-time positions during the past year, amounting to “significant savings,” according to Lindsey. Personnel costs — including a 3% cost-of-living adjustment for employees — still make up the vast majority of BCASD’s $5,454,2092 expenses in FY’26.

The BCASD also withdrew from the Dover, Sandpoint Downtown, Sandpoint Northern, Priest River and Old Town Urban Renewal Agencies in May, recouping money it would otherwise have paid into those organizations to help promote economic growth and improve infrastructure. The 2025 passage of House Bill 436 gave ambulance and fire districts the ability to opt-out of those payments, which were previously mandatory. BCASD’s withdrawal lessened the FY’26 budget by approximately $130,000.

Any revenue anticipated but not allocated to a specific expense will go into BCASD’s contingency fund to cover unexpected expenses and build up BCASD’s target $2 million reserve.

“One of the things that we feel is super important, and that has been communicated from the commissioners to us … is that we continue to build our reserves until we get somewhere around that $2 million point, to where we don’t  — if we ever get in a situation again, we don’t have to borrow from the county like we did last year,” said Lindsey. “Then we can get to the point where we’re no longer TAN-ing and, hopefully, we’re well on our way to being financially stable.”

BOCC Chair Asia Williams stated at the county’s Aug. 18 budget hearing that, though BCASD will end FY’25 with approximately $800,000, the district anticipates the need to take out another TAN in the future. The BOCC will vote on the issue at a yet-to-be-determined date closer to the end of FY’25 in September.