A Thursday morning session at the Shoshone County Courthouse in Wallace put a dozen departmental spending plans under review, as commissioners worked toward formal budget adoption scheduled for September. The workshop tackled everything from liability insurance to snowmobile trail grooming, with most line items holding flat or edging slightly downward.
Deputy Clerk Timmie Hunter filled in for Clerk Lori Osterberg to help commissioners navigate the figures. Discussions on parks and building maintenance ran long and will resume at a later session.
Insurance Accounts for All Year-Over-Year Growth
Among the dozen categories examined, only two are slated to cost the county more than last year — and both involve insurance.
Shoshone County carries liability coverage through the Idaho Counties Risk Management Program (ICRMP), a member-owned risk pool that Idaho local governments created in 1985. For the coming fiscal year, that coverage is proposed at $290,705 — a $5,700 jump over the prior budget. Commissioner Jeff Zimmerman was candid about the county’s options when facing premium growth: “I don’t think there’s anything we can do about that.”
The self-insurance fund, which handles employee dental benefits, tells a similar story. Commissioners are being asked to raise that allocation from $75,000 to $85,000, a $10,000 increase. The reason is straightforward: actual dental costs during fiscal year 2026 reached approximately $82,000, outpacing the budgeted figure by $7,000. Adjusting the budget to match real spending patterns brings the county’s planning more in line with what it actually pays out.
Commissioner Dose raised a question worth tracking — whether the county could reduce the $10,000 deductible it is currently required to maintain on hand for insurance purposes. Staff were asked to look into what options, if any, exist.
Most Departments Holding the Line
Six of the budgets presented Thursday came in exactly where they were the prior year. The fish hatchery is proposed at $7,439, the airport at $75,162, waterways at $29,663, snowmobile grooming at $40,700, the junior college contribution at $40,000, and the historical society at $7,000. No changes, no drama — a sign that these programs have found a stable funding footing.
Two departments actually trimmed their requests modestly. The public health district assessment dropped $1,164 to a proposed $98,160, while the noxious weed control budget came down $1,000 to $64,179. Both programs operate under a state mandate — Idaho law requires counties to fund public health district assessments and weed control — meaning commissioners have little latitude to cut them entirely. The reductions, while modest, represent the county keeping a careful eye on expenditures even in areas where spending is essentially required.
Taken together, the session painted a picture of a county working to contain costs wherever possible. Outside of insurance, pressures across these departments appear manageable. The harder budgetary conversations — covering law enforcement, road and bridge operations, and county administration — tend to involve considerably larger dollar figures and typically get their own dedicated review time.
What Comes Next
The budget process is not finished. Parks and building maintenance, the two items commissioners did not complete Thursday, will come back before the board at an upcoming meeting. Additional workshops covering the county’s larger departmental budgets are expected in the weeks ahead before September’s formal adoption deadline under Idaho law.
Shoshone County residents who want to stay current on how local tax dollars are being managed can watch for continued coverage of the budget process here at Shoshone County News. For statewide fiscal and policy developments, visit Idaho News, and for broader North Idaho government coverage, see Kootenai County News.