Commissioners adopt new budget

Two of the largest differences between the current budget versus and newest budget adopted by county officials are due to healthcare and a “court room issue.”

County commissioners adopted the budget for fiscal year 2018 on Sept. 7 for $29,804,838.

That number is $2.5 million more than the budget for fiscal year 2017, County Finance and Budget Director Scott Beggs said, because of a few reasons.

He listed by email that the Federal Aviation Administration grants for airport improvement projects “is up from prior years” as well as two court-ordered levy increases.

Lake County allocates a percentage of tax revenues each year to cover the cost of inmates housed at the Lake County Jail.

“However, because the Court orders they (inmates) be detained in our detention facility, we must provide for their healthcare needs regardless of the cost,” Beggs said.

Typically, those costs have exceeded what is available in resources to pay for inmate healthcare, he added.

“We’re then allowed by State statute to what’s called a court-ordered levy,” which is when officials ask taxpayers to fund that additional cost without having to have it voted on, Beggs explained.

He went on to say that each year, about $100,000 to $150,000 is allocated for inmate healthcare while actual care costs range between $200,000 to $400,000 a year.

The additional costs then make it harder to afford maintenance on roadways and general services, he said.

The reason behind the increase is healthcare costs continue to rise.

An example Beggs shared was that an inmate could be housed at the jail for a couple of weeks and need medical services within that time that cost upwards of $100,000, thus using up the budgeted amount intended for all inmates in the fiscal year.

The uncertainty of knowing who will be jailed is a contributing factor as well.

“You don’t know the health of inmates” when they are brought to the jail, Beggs said.

Some inmates have gone through trial and are awaiting sentencing, while others are waiting to be transported to another detention center.

Beggs said that taxpayers will see a special line called the “poor fund” dedicated to the healthcare as well as another court-ordered line on their tax bills.

The cost of monies overspent this year will be spread out over a three-year window for the court-ordered levy to pay the inmate healthcare, Beggs said.

Another significant change in the budget is in regards to a “Court-ordered court room,” which will have a budget of about $10 million for the project.

The court room will result in a general-obligation bond, Beggs said, which will be spread over “a 20-year window.”

On an appraisal of $200,000, a taxpayer will pay approximately $65 annually.

Over those 20 years, Beggs said that the bond would generate approximately $12-15 million.

Bond payments would come in December 2018, he said.

Beggs explained that currently, there is only one court room for the District Court in Lake County.

An agreement between Lake County and the State of Montana, he said, stated that a second court room would be added.

Architectural designs were made in the 1990s and it was found that adding the room to the current court house was “cost-prohibitive” at that time, Beggs said.

Beggs said that since then, the court house has been recently reassessed and some departments will have to move to another location in an annex facility.

That building will tentatively be constructed near the Elks Lodge on Main Street in Polson, Beggs said. He also said that officials are still conducting research regarding which departments would be housed in the annex building.

Beggs said officials are meeting with architectural firms who have said they can stay within the budget.

County commissioners in addition to Beggs each have a copy of the budget, which can be viewed at the Lake County Courthouse.