BONNERS FERRY — The North Bench Volunteer Fire Department board voted 4-1 to ask residents to convert the agency into a taxing district as it faces ongoing funding problems. The decision comes ahead of a Feb. 28 annual meeting at 10 a.m. at the department’s Station 1 building.

Because membership dues are voluntary, a large portion of the area served by North Bench does not contribute financially.  Through October 2025, the department was operating with a $20,000 deficit for the year. 

“The issue with that is that, historically, only about half, 50% to 55% on the high side, of property owners here pay the membership dues,” North Bench board chair Jim Hill said. “So step one, there's the issue of fairness. You still have 45% of the people that are not contributing to the upkeep of the department.” 

Hill said the district has operated on a shoestring budget for years, resulting in aging and unreliable equipment. 

“The equipment and apparatus we have has been cobbled together over the years,” Hill said. “The apparatus and vehicles — the newest ones are nearing 30 years old and we have others that are well over 30 years old.” 

Moving to a taxing district would provide several benefits, Hill said. 

“First of all, the load would be spread among everybody,” Hill said. “Second, it would be deductible from federal income tax — your SALT taxes, state and local taxes, which this would be, are deductible on federal income tax. Membership dues are not.”   

The funding challenges have created operational concerns in what Hill described as the fastest growing and most populated area of Boundary County.

“About March of last year — there was about a six-week window where we could not have responded to a serious fire event had there been one,” Hill said. 

The proposed tax rate has not yet been set. If approved, any increase beyond the inflationary allowance in state law would require another vote of local residents. 

“Local control would be maintained because, in order to raise the tax rate — other than the provision for inflation that's in the state law — would require another vote of the membership or the registered voters here,” Hill said. “So there's a number of advantages to the local community and the fire department would be able to continue to operate.” 

Hill said the goal is to ensure the department can continue to operate safely and professionally. 

“I would hope that we're sufficiently funded so that we can safely respond to medical, fire and other hazardous traffic accidents in a professional manner,” Hill said. “Right now, we're a volunteer department. A lot of that will continue, but we volunteer to be professional.” 

If the proposal fails, Hill said the district may be forced to shut down. 

“We're projecting to run out of funds this year, so we would probably end up declaring bankruptcy and shutting the doors,” Hill said. “This board has decided that we'll either operate it professionally or we won't. If we don't, that means closing the doors and walking away.”