In the midst of budgeting chaos, the Kootenai County commissioners are giving residents a break.

By digging into dollars accumulated in a fund balance, the county will be able to pay for the nearly half a million dollar budget for the Aquifer Protection District by itself this next fiscal year.

That means no county residents will have to pay a supporting fee.

"In working with Rep. (Bob) Nonini and the aquifer district advisory board, the goal was to get the fund balance to a prudent level," said Commissioner Dan Green. "The way to do that was to continue to fund operations without having to collect more money this year."

Since fiscal year 2008, the county has collected $8 per residence to fund operations of the Aquifer Protection District, which include site inspections and public education to protect the drinking water source for 500,000.

Any dollars that weren't spent by the end of each fiscal year were deposited in a fund balance.

By September, 2010, that amount had swelled to $541,587.

The officials could just let it sit, Green said. Or they could use it, and try to keep the fund balance moderate in the future.

So the fee is being reduced to $6, and for this upcoming budget year, folks won't have to pay it.

"If we didn't make these fee changes, we would continue to collect dollars we don't need," Green said.

The Aquifer Protection District will receive $493,670 for the 2011-12 fiscal year, under the commissioners' proposed budget.

Nonini, who wrote the legislation to create the Aquifer Protection District, said he was impressed with the idea to use the fund balance.

"They're just so involved," he said of the commissioners and the district advisory board. "It isn't just collecting fees and putting anything on autopilot."

The district was created in response to concerns raised by a leak at the BNSF refueling depot in 2004, Nonini reminded.

Funding the district has allowed for increased vigilance of what materials from commercial and residential properties are disposed of in the aquifer, he said.

"I think it's well worth it to make sure we have the best drinking water around," Nonini said.