Kootenai County auditor urges Hayden to cover full costs of sheriff contract; proposes 40% overhead markup

Kootenai County officials pushed the City of Hayden on Tuesday to pay more for its dedicated sheriff services, presenting a financial analysis that recommends charging an overhead markup of 40% on top of personnel costs and applying credits for vehicles the city already purchased.

The recommendation came from Brandy Falcon, Kootenai County auditor, who told the Board of County Commissioners that Hayden currently pays far less per resident and per $100,000 in taxable value for policing than neighboring cities and that the county’s “justice fund” does not obligate the county to provide enhanced, city-level services for free.

Falcon laid out a timeline of outreach and analysis dating to April, and reviewed numbers the county used to calculate personnel and indirect (“overhead”) costs for the Hayden contract. Using wage and benefit figures current when Falcon drafted her memo, she estimated personnel costs for Hayden’s dedicated positions at roughly $1.1 million (rising to about $1.2 million if a requested lieutenant is added). Falcon said a full allocation of overhead items — vehicle depreciation, fuel and maintenance, training, uniforms, liability insurance, records and administrative support — would amount to a roughly 61% markup, but the county reduced that to a recommended 40% for negotiation and credited Hayden about $271,000 for vehicles the city already owns.

“Hayden is paying less per citizen and per $100,000 in taxable value for law enforcement services than the other cities in Kootenai County,” Falcon said. She read comparisons included in her memo: Coeur d’Alene $611.49 per citizen, Post Falls $418.95, Rathdrum $367.73, and Hayden $226.40 (per-citizen figures), and per-$100,000-taxable-value rates of Coeur d’Alene $303.02, Post Falls $267.57, Rathdrum $251.62 and Hayden $113.23.

Captain Smart of the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office described how deputies are assigned across county patrol zones and said the sheriff’s office prioritizes filling contract positions, then primary population centers, then other zones as staffing allows. “When we do assign the contract, then we're obligated to put somebody there. And so was that pulled from patrol? Yes,” Captain Smart said, describing how contracts can pull deputies from general patrol and create a one-year vacancy while positions are backfilled and trained.

Commissioner Metari (chair) framed the issue as a fairness and transparency problem. “If we enter into a contract that does have a deficit, that deficit is being funded by taxpayers that don't live in the city of Hayden,” Metari said, urging Hayden to explain the shortfall to its residents. Metari criticized what she called a long-standing discrepancy between what Hayden pays and what comparable cities pay, saying the county “should focus on developing a rate through the auditor's office” and then let the sheriff negotiate service levels.

Commissioner Duncan pressed for clarity about where limited deputy resources are directed. She asked whether school resource officer (SRO) contracts or other municipal contracts take priority over patrol assignments in sparsely populated districts; Falcon and Captain Smart said contract positions are filled first and that SROs reduce demand for patrol response to school incidents. Brandy Falcon noted the board previously directed the undersheriff to seek full reimbursement for SRO wages and benefits in negotiations going forward.

Falcon described three contract options the board developed for negotiation and said she had sent the options and updated cost spreadsheets to the undersheriff and to Hayden. She also described repeated changes in Hayden’s published budget amounts: Falcon said Hayden’s publicly posted law-enforcement revenue figure moved from about $1.39 million to $1.049 million during the county’s budget process, a shift that reduced the city’s contribution and increased the county’s projected shortfall. Falcon told commissioners that, even after vehicle credits and a 40% overhead, the county’s calculation produced a proposed contract figure of about $1.433 million.

No vote was taken at the status update. Commissioners asked staff to continue negotiations, to return with additional data (including a clearer breakdown of calls for service and proactive patrol time), and to consider establishing a uniform overhead rate for dedicated law-enforcement contracts countywide. Falcon said she is working with sheriff’s staff to separate and better track Hayden-specific operating expenses (fuel, maintenance, training, overtime) to allow more precise future allocations.

County officials also cited a 2022 local news article quoting then-Hayden Mayor Scott Forsall that acknowledged regional policing costs and stated that contracting for services could still be a bargain for Hayden. Falcon and the board used that public record to underscore that Hayden officials have long been aware of comparative costs.

Next steps: the county auditor and the sheriff’s negotiators will continue talks with Hayden staff. Falcon said she will refine the overhead allocation and track additional line-item expenses where possible; commissioners asked for reporting on proactive vs. reactive patrol time and on the financial impacts of contract terms before finalizing a new contract.

Ending: The board did not adopt a final contract at the meeting. Falcon recommended cost recovery — limiting the county subsidy of city-level services — as the guiding principle for negotiations and said the auditor’s office will return with updated numbers and supporting documentation for commissioner review.