Bonner County ambulance district previews FY27 budget, seeks 3% foregone to fund capital needs

The Bonner County Ambulance Service District reviewed a preliminary FY27 budget at a June 17 meeting, with staff presenting a new report format and draft totals that will be finalized after official property-tax numbers are released in late July. Staff described expected FY27 revenue of about $5.59 million and total expenses in the mid-$5.3 million range, both identified as preliminary estimates.

Staff told commissioners EMS billings are tracking at roughly 68% of the current-year target and that the district recently received its first ground emergency medical transport (GMT) Medicaid payment, which staff said will raise billing revenue significantly. Contract payments for special events and wildfire standby were described as unanticipated income that is difficult to budget reliably.

To help cover capital projects, staff said the district will request the 3% foregone levy in the FY27 budget; staff estimated that 3% of the levy would yield on the order of $120,000 and said the amount would not cover a full ambulance purchase but would help toward capital replacement costs. "We're going to request the 3% foregone" and "it would be like $120,000 somewhere around there," staff said when describing the proposed approach.

Capital items discussed included a proposed ambulance replacement (discussed in the meeting with a price cited around $320,000), a power-load system for a new ambulance (approximately $34,000), and potential capital leases for ambulances and life‑pack monitors if the board approves those purchases. Staff emphasized the figures will be refined once the county's finalized tax numbers (the L2) are available, likely in late July.

Commissioners asked staff to circulate a revised budget in the coming weeks and tentatively scheduled a follow-up meeting to adopt the budget after revenue numbers are confirmed. No formal vote or adoption occurred at the June 17 session; the district will revisit the proposal once final tax and billing numbers are inserted into the new reporting format.