As if hearings on more than 420 property tax appeals wasn't enough, the Blaine County Commissioners on Wednesday began reviewing budget requests for the 2006-2007 fiscal year.
The Blaine County Sheriff's Office, which was first up, wants to boost salaries and add two full-time employees.
Sheriff Walt Femling said the Carey valley, which is facing potentially explosive growth in coming years, needs a full-time deputy. The position would save the sheriff's office time and money—the 65-mile roundtrip trip from Hailey to Carey consumes gas and hours—and boost revenues for the county via traffic tickets, Femling said.
"I have trouble with trying to produce revenue by writing tickets. Carey might get bent out of shape over that," said Commissioner Tom Bowman. "But I know you're just trying to do the right thing."
Femling also wants to hire a full-time call-taker to answer all non-emergency phone calls during the week. Last year, the sheriff's office implemented an automated phone system that all non-emergency callers have to navigate to reach a live voice.
The system was designed to relieve dispatchers from answering business calls and allow them to focus solely on emergency calls. But it has turned into a nightmare, Femling said.
"We have tried to make it as simple as possible ... but every Monday I have 40 messages on my phone from people yelling at me about the stupid phone system," Femling said. "We have people who don't call 911 because they don't think it's an emergency and then they can't find their way through the phone system."
And Femling said some of the messages actually are emergencies.
"People have reported emergency crimes, shots fired, those kinds of things, and left it on my voicemail," he said. "We have had so many complaints."
But Bowman questioned how the position would aid mixed-up weekend callers, which appears to be the source of the problem.
"I got to tell you right now I'm not thrilled with the position, but I will consider it," Bowman said.
With board of equalization—the name of the tax appeal judgement process—hearings consuming daily life at the Old County Courthouse through July 22, the commissioners are forced to squeeze budget hearings into whatever open slots are available.
In other words, a schedule on the budget hearings, which are expected to run through the end of the month and culminate with a final public hearing during the first week of August, is a work in progress.
