Commissioners approve technician lead, pull engineering-level hire for review

Bonner County27s technology director requested two staffing changes during the budget review: a technician lead and a higher-grade system engineer. Commissioners provisionally approved the technician lead but asked HR and the board to revisit the system-engineer request and the department27s overall structure before approving a higher-grade, higher-salary role.

The director described the technician lead as a necessary on-the-ground supervisor to triage tickets and manage desktop support, and said current staff were taking on expanded responsibilities. He said the network/system work sometimes requires staff with specialized skills who are already at the senior level.

Commissioners raised concerns about the department becoming top-heavy with higher-paid supervisory titles and suggested alternatives such as hiring more lower-tier technicians or reclassifying an existing administrator role instead of adding a new high-level engineer. One commissioner said, "I think that technology could use more people, but I'm not agreeable to that [system engineer] at this time," and proposed pulling the budgeted dollars for the engineer into a reserve for HR review.

Why it matters: The technology department supports county operations across departments. Staffing decisions affect both day-to-day service (help-desk tickets, project delivery) and long-term costs; a new senior role would exceed $95,000 fully loaded if adopted at the requested grade.

Discussion vs. decision: The board approved creating a technician lead position (to be advertised or filled per HR rules). The higher-grade system engineer request was not approved; commissioners asked HR to re-evaluate the job description and recommended exploring a system-administrator-level or additional technician instead.

Ending note: Technology staff were told to work with HR on job descriptions and to return any revised requests or benchmarking before the final budget vote.