August 29, 2025
The Bannock County Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the FY2026 budget yesterday despite public outcry opposing 14.5% raises for the commissioners (from $82,934 per year to $95,000 per year) while cutting funds for programs serving seniors, veterans, and the homeless.
Dozens of Bannock County residents spoke out against the proposed budget at a public hearing held on Tuesday, August 26. Those speaking threatened to launch a recall effort against the commissioners and complained about cutting funding for Aid for Friends, the Pocatello/Chubbuck Senior Center, and the Bannock County Veterans Memorial Building while providing double-digit raises for themselves. (See article here: Bannock County Residents Pack Commissioner Meeting Room to Protest Proposed FY2026 Budget | Observer News Group)
On Thursday the commissioners pushed back against the comments they heard from members of the public two days earlier. Commissioner Hough, Chairman of the Board of Commissioners, began the discussion by thanking members of the public for their comments. “It’s nice to have that public involvement and the public discussion.”
Commissioner Moser then led off the discussion, noting the comments heard on Tuesday. In response to those comments, he stated, “We didn’t take money for nonprofits in raising the commission salaries.” He went on to say that the money for raises for the commissioners came from not replacing the Chief of Staff position, previously funded at $75,000 per year. Moser added, “The commission are full time employees. We work 24/7.” Moser also mentioned the cost of running for office as factoring into the raises and talked about the duties carried out by the commissioners. He went on to speak about the benefits that nonprofit organizations receive from the county, particularly those related to veterans. “We have not abandoned anybody,” he concluded.
Commissioner Bullock began his comments by referencing an additional $400,000 cost for health benefits. He continued, “I want to remind everybody about the purpose of county. We are full of continued mandates. The number one mandate we have is…we have to provide law enforcement and a jail.” Bullock spoke about having to maintain roads, maintain a judicial system, maintain a juvenile [judicial] system, provide help for people from abusive relationships, controlling weeds and mosquitoes, and funding an ambulance service. After listing other mandated services that the county provides, Bullock said that an area of the budgeting process “that we did miss a little bit was some of the charities, some of the nonprofits.” “In defense,” he said, “…I’d like to see where the counties are actually mandated to fund nonprofits.” Bullock then said, in reference to funding nonprofits, “I will apologize for looking at those narrowly and probably cutting some of those funds, but I will not apologize for not trying to take care of county residents’ money.” He also promised to take a look at the funding for the nonprofits, “within the next couple weeks…to bring those funds up to where they should be.”
Commissioner Hough began his comments by saying that “I’ve likened this past week to being a referee during a pretty, pretty intense ball game. No matter what you do, you’re not going to make anybody happy.” Hough related a personal story about help he received from the county when he was a young man. “Bannock County…helped me and my family,” he said. Relating the story to the work of the local nonprofits, Hough said, “I, like Commissioner Bullock, apologize for my narrow view and some of the, some of the incorrect information that I had, but I very much appreciated visiting with the nonprofits, and I share the same, same sentiments that Commissioner Bullock does.” Hough continued, “I’ve been looking for ways to restore some funding for some of the nonprofits that we’ve talked about, and then we don’t have a solution today, but we have a path forward.” He stated that he believed he could find a way over the next couple of weeks to, “correct the wrong.”
Once the discussion concluded, Commissioner Bullock moved to pass the budget as presented and the commissioners voted unanimously to do so.
You can watch the meeting at which the commissioners pass the budget here, starting at 40:00:
