SANDPOINT — At the Bonner County Ambulance Service District’s first meeting in February, Chief Jeff Lindsey was designated as the district’s revenue anticipation note signer.  

The district met with Bonner County commissioners for its bimonthly meeting, approving a consent agenda, a fiscal year 2026 claims batch and, most notably, designating Lindsey as the RAN signer and administrative assistant Sarah Nixon as the signature attester.  

A signature on the note is required to confirm the agreement between the district and Columbia Bank. 

The RAN was approved for $500,000 and can be used to fill any potential cash flow gaps between October and January, a time when the district does not receive county tax funds. As it stands, Lindsey says there isn’t a gap in cash flow, with the district reporting a nearly $2.9 million cash balance at the end of January.  

Before the “gap period” last year, ambulance district officials realized the district did not have funds in its account to continue operations. While no clear answer was determined about what led to the deficit, a contributing factor to the loss had come to light — the district had been run like a county department, not its own taxing district. In its efforts to rebuild the district to be self-sustaining, the ambulance district utilized a $2 million tax anticipation note. Only $500,000 of the funds were used and paid back.  

“Last year at this time, we took a $500,000 TAN out, and with a tax dump, it got us to around the $2 million level on Feb. 1,” Lindsey said. “And without using any of the RAN this year, we’re almost at $2.9 million. So, it’s definitely two different landscapes for sure.” 

Designating Lindsey as the RAN signer comes after the original loan paperwork had a county official as the signer, as opposed to an ambulance district official. The transition of signers is part of the long-term efforts to maintain separation between the county and the district.