Blaine County tentative budget set for fiscal 1998-99

It may not have been an edge-of-the-seat series of meetings, but the Blaine County’s tentative 1998-99 fiscal budget is done, to the tune of $11,448,558.

"I was pretty pleased," Blaine County Chief Deputy Clerk Marsha Riemann said Tuesday. "It’s a challenging process and the [Blaine County] Commissioners had a lot of things going on this year."

Riemann, who has worked on a decade’s worth of county budgets, added she appreciated the 3.5 percent raises commissioners gave county employees, instead of the typical 3 percent increase.

This tentative budget will stand as an upper limit to county spending over the next year. Any adjustments to line items within the budget can only decrease the overall budget amount.

The final budget hearing, where tax collection levels, or mil levies, are set is scheduled for this fall, on the morning of Sept. 8.

The commissioners made several last-minute decisions Monday before giving their final approval.

The Blaine County Ambulance budget settled at $724,092 with $314,188 for Ketchum Ambulance, $327,000 for Wood River Fire and Ambulance, $25,500 for Carey Quick Response Unit and $57,304 for the capital improvements line item.

Ketchum had requested more money to reach more equal funding with Wood River, however, Blaine County Commissioners decided Wood River’s responsibility to transport patients to out-of-county locations deserved a higher budget allotment.

An idea to add an eighth, alternate member to the Blaine County Planning and Zoning Commission was discarded.

"This is something we can’t do yet," Blaine County Commissioner Len Harlig said.

Harlig said a memo from Blaine County Prosecuting Attorney Doug Werth discouraged hiring an eighth P&Z member to fill in for any regular member absences, because it was not supported by Idaho Code.

The Blaine County Fair Board will receive $33,000 this year, a significant jump from last year.

"They’re keeping a large category of youth busy with a good clean activity and hard work," Commissioner Dennis Wright said. He compared 4-H contests and similar programs with the DARE/PAL youth activities.