SANDPOINT — Bonner County commissioners approved wildfire mitigation funding and a new employee health data agreement during Tuesday’s business meeting, which will assist projects in both emergency management and human resources.  

Bonner County Emergency Management was approved for four memorandums of understanding between Bonner County and the Idaho Department of Lands for several awarded grants. The grants will be used for hazardous fuel treatment associated with the county’s Bonfire Program.  

The program aims to reduce the risk of wildfires through the removal of hazardous fuels from private properties, enhancing defensibility against wildfires.  

The four MOU grant amounts were approved for different projects within the program: $235,667 for the Dry Fuels II/Buckskin IV project, $149,557 for the Joint Chiefs project, $240,000 for the Careywood North project and $500,000 for the Bonner South project.  

Director Bob Howard said each grant is used for similar projects but comes from a different funding stream.  

Emergency Management was also approved to extend a contract with Idaho Fish and Wildlife until Dec. 31, 2026. Under the agreement, the agency works with the county to provide fuel reduction on Two Rivers Park in Priest River. The extended contract will increase the budget amount by $25,000 to continue working on the project.  

Bonner County Human Resources was approved to enter into a data extract and confidentiality agreement, which will allow the county’s broker, Alliant, to provide analytics on the county’s medical and prescription plans, using monthly claims data from Regence through a third party.  

According to Senior HR Generalist Kevin Rothenberger, the agreement will be valuable to the county by identifying the top medications used by county employees, enabling those medications to be considered for coverage in future plans.  

Commissioner Asia Williams praised Rothenberger’s work on the agreement, saying it is a big step in best serving the county's workforce.  

“One of the things that Kevin has been working on is, how do we get better coverage for what the county is paying for? And that’s part of what’s happening,” Williams said. “As staff members bring forward issues and concerns about drugs that they have that might be more expensive, this is part of what we’re doing to try to identify how to best serve our employees.” 

The contract will also track projected monthly medical costs, allowing for better decision-making regarding county medical plans.