SANDPOINT — In one of its longer bi-monthly meetings, the Bonner County Ambulance Service District staff and board discussed communication issues between the district and the Bonner County Auditor's Office. 

Conversations stemmed from an action/discussion item put on the agenda by Commissioner Asia Williams for the district to consider a memorandum of understanding between itself and the Bonner County Auditor's Office after a communication issue came to light between the two entities regarding tax forms. 

According to Williams, the items stem from the Bonner County clerk's office sending W-2 tax forms to ambulance employees, despite being a separate taxing district, where the forms had incorrect information on them. The county forms, according to the district's bookkeeper Jennifer Wyman, only included three-quarters of 2025 and gross overtime instead of qualified overtime. 

Wyman shared during the meeting that she was unaware that the county produced documents, with the information coming to light while she was distributing her own forms to the district employees. She further indicated communications issues with the clerk's office, as Wyman requested that the county department submit an email to ambulance district employees to disregard the county-produced forms. 

Bonner County EMS employees are employed by the county; however, the district maintains its own payroll administrator and bookkeeper since its official separation from the county.  

The suggested MOU was not voted on, as commissioners agreed that it would be best to craft a generalized agreement between the county and the district, as opposed to several agreements for different county departments.  

Confusion stems from the ambulance district being treated as a county department for the past twenty years, where the county oversaw all payroll, insurance, bookkeeping and other necessary services. It wasn’t until a miscommunication over funds occurred in Nov. 2024 and the district realized it could go bankrupt, that county officials realized the misclassification of the BCASD.