SANDPOINT — During Bonner County’s Tuesday meeting, only two county departments were listed on the agenda, where county commissioners discussed the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office agreements and several agenda items from the Clerk’s office.  

An invoice was approved for the department in $10,548 to pay North Idaho College to train three deputies to attend the POST Academy. According to a memorandum submitted to the board, the cost to attend the academy is $3,516 per deputy.  

The sheriff’s office was also approved for an annual maintenance agreement totaling $27,984.66 for one year’s support for all hardware and software associated with the dispatch system. The services are confidential, and therefore, no other information was provided about the agreement.  

In another agreement, the sheriff’s office was approved to enter into an agreement with the Federal Emergency Management Agency Integrated Public Alert and Warning System for a free three-year agreement. According to the department, the agreement will permit the county’s 9-1-1 center to issue wireless emergency alerts as needed in accordance with regulated guidelines.  

The Clerk’s office was approved for the fiscal year 2026 Claims Batch No. 21 for $322,263.22 and the fiscal year 2026 demands batch No. 21 for $58,433.31.  

Comptroller Jessica Stephany was also able to provide clarity on the confusion between the department and the Ambulance Service District, as it relates to W-2 tax form confusion.  

The clarification stems from conversations at a bi-monthly BCASD meeting, where ambulance district employees received tax forms from the county, despite not being classified as county employees. Confusion came when employees also received tax forms from the district bookkeeper, and the forms contained different numbers.  

Stephany said the county sent an email to Bonner County employees Jan. 27 stating that their W-2 forms were ready. However, ambulance district employees also received it because they were still on the county’s employee email group.  

When W-2 forms were processed to include all wages paid, including EMS employees, the EMS W-2s were removed from the automated email distribution and not sent out through the normal distribution method. However, all W-2s were automatically posted to the employee self-service portal, which EMS employees still had access to.  

Both entities are currently working to remove the incorrect W-2 forms from the management system.