PHD to hold additional budget hearing

Counties consider COLA, clinical services

By Soncirey Mitchell
Reader Staff

Following the five northern counties’ May 20 vote to deny the Panhandle Health District’s fiscal year 2027 budget, officials will hold another public hearing Tuesday, June 16 to consider a revised proposal. 

Planned FY ’27 expenses include major alterations to the district’s clinical services, which have, in part, been shaped and opposed by various county commissioners.

The meeting will be open to the public and take place at the district’s headquarters (8500 N. Atlas Way, in Hayden). Stream it online on PHD’s YouTube page or via Microsoft Teams by visiting panhandlehealthdistrict.org.

Representatives from Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai and Shoshone counties previously voted 4-1 to deny the budget, taking issue with various allocations of funds, such as the 2% cost-of-living adjustment planned for district salaries.

“The issue is, however, that if I were to vote to approve a COLA for the PHD staff, and then we are ultimately unable to match or do something similar for our own county staff, then I would be creating an inequity,” said Bonner County Commissioner Brian Domke.

PHD must pass its budget between the first Monday in June and the first Monday in July, according to state statute; however, the deadline for the BOCC to finalize its budget is early September, meaning PHD must choose whether to include a COLA months before Bonner County can determine if it has the budget to pass one for its employees. 

As of press time, it was unclear whether PHD would have to remove the proposed COLA to secure Bonner County’s vote.

Boundary County Commissioner Tim Bertling and Shoshone County Commissioner Jeff Zimmerman also opposed the budget, arguing for a greater emphasis on environmental, rather than clinical, services.

PHD’s proposed FY ’27 total budget remains at $12,299,702 — garnered from taxes, permit and licensing fees and health services — and does not represent a decrease in funding to the district’s environmental services. It requested $2,216,903 in contributions from the five northern counties, which Idaho Code requires to pay a percentage into the district based on their respective wealth and populations. 

Bonner County’s proposed contributions amount to $470,211, the second highest after Kootenai County at $1,479,299.

Though it does not shift resources from environmental services, the FY ’27 budget proposal puts renewed emphasis on clinical services by budgeting for expanded hours of operations and additional staff, such as a social worker, two medical assistants, a nurse practitioner and a public information officer. 

In addition, the Board of Health intends to put a greater emphasis on naturopathic and preventative medicine in an effort to combat the “chronic disease epidemic,” which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identifies as conditions including heart disease, cancer and diabetes representing the leading causes of death and disability in the nation.

PHD Medical Director Gregory Pennock, who has stewarded the proposed clinical changes, argues that the new focus will lead to “more budget neutrality” by increasing community use of the clinics, and, in turn, funding operations through insurance payouts and patient fees.

Bertline voiced his board’s opposition to the new focus on clinical services, arguing that those needs were already met in Boundary County by private practices. Because of that, as part of the modified budget proposal, PHD intends to give counties the ability to opt out of clinical services going forward. This will not impact a county’s monetary contributions, only how the district will spend its funds.

PHD Board of Health Chair Thomas Fletcher stated May 20 that removing days in Boundary County — and other willing areas — will make for a “much more efficient clinic,” as the district would no longer spend time and money ferrying resources more than 70 miles from the Hayden headquarters. As of press time, the clinic schedule for June includes services on Mondays, Fridays and every other Wednesday at the Hayden office; Thursdays in Sandpoint; every other Wednesday in Kellogg; and every other Tuesday split between Bonners Ferry and St. Maries.