Commissioners direct policy update on chief-deputy pay after coroner and elected-official questions

Bonner County commissioners directed staff to revise the county’s chief-deputy pay policy to reflect differing work arrangements after discussion about whether part-time, on-call coroner deputies should be paid the same as full-time chief deputies.

Background and budget treatment: Jessica, staff, told the board she added $4,800 to the clerk, treasurer and assessor budgets and $1,200 to the coroner’s budget to cover chief-deputy pay in the draft. She said the coroner’s chief deputy is part time, so the $1,200 reflects the lower annualized cost.

Policy issue: Coroner Beers (speaking during public comment) described his office’s practice of calling in an on-call deputy only when needed and said those deputies have other jobs; he said pay should apply when they are activated. Other commissioners and staff noted that for full-time chief deputies who perform ongoing duties, a full annual differential is appropriate. The board concluded the current written policy is not aligned with operational realities for on-call deputies and needs revision.

Decision and implementation: Commissioners agreed the county will keep the budget allocation as proposed (the small allocations in the respective budgets) and asked HR to update the chief-deputy pay policy so it can be applied consistently (pay code attached to the elected official’s assigned chief deputy, with part-time/on-call application reflected where appropriate). The board said the mechanics and language of the policy will be revised outside the meeting and returned to the board for finalization.

Ending note: From a budget standpoint the dollars are set aside; the board will not publish a different funding total but will update policy language to clarify when the differential applies.