SANDPOINT — With a short agenda for Wednesday’s meeting, the Bonner County Ambulance District discussed a budget hearing and the district’s overall wellbeing.  

BCEMS agreed to hold its fiscal year 2026 budget hearing Aug. 20. The hearing will be a part of the Wednesday board meeting and is a chance for the district to present the 2026 budget to the board for approval.  

Workshops will take place before the official presentation to discuss anticipated costs and considerations. It is undetermined when those workshops will take place.  

In miscellaneous business, Commissioner Brian Domke, appearing from Zoom, quickly discussed high priority tasks that the district is focused on. The highest priority is determining the ambulance’s legal structure.   

Leaning on its own legal counsel, the ambulance district is expected to schedule a meeting to discuss the pros and cons of either dissolving the district’s current structure or establishing joint power agreements with the county. The outcome of those discussions will better equip the district in establishing a budget and preferred level of services offered. No meetings have been scheduled yet on the matter.  

A tax anticipation note update was provided by Chief Jeff Lindsey. As the district is expected to apply for another TAN in 2026, Lindsey shared the savings the department would have when applying for the new loan. 

According to Lindsey, the company that helped the department apply for the fiscal year 2025 TAN charged a flat rate fee that equated to $600/hour for 19 hours of work, equaling around $11,000. With the department’s new legal hire, the cost per hour of work will drop to about $200/hour, coming out to roughly $4,000.  

Lindsey also presented the current cash standings of the district, totaling $1,381,493. The district is expected to end fiscal year 2025 with about $887,000. The projected balances are expected to shift due to the recent increase in fees and projected payments to the district’s outsourced services.