Kootenai County commissioners trim $549,000 from FY26 personnel requests, press HR to validate pay study

Kootenai County commissioners on June 18 continued FY26 budget deliberations that focused on personnel and pay‑scale changes, approving some new positions while cutting or deferring others and asking HR and the consultant who produced the county—s compensation study to explain apparent anomalies.

The session produced about $549,000 in immediate personnel reductions and a number of provisional approvals — including a special investigations detective for the sheriff—s office — while the board directed staff to seek clarifications from Thompson Consulting Group and to return with fiscal impacts and clearer comparisons before making final decisions.

A key driver for the discussion was a compensation study HR presented. Lexi Pack of the county—s human resources office told commissioners that Thompson Consulting Group had delivered a 2025 market analysis and HR offered recommendations grouped as "critical," "moderate" and "optional." Pack said HR expects to "age" the data 2.5 percent for 2026 and flagged several critical gaps, including difficulty recruiting juvenile detention officers and deputy prosecuting attorneys.

The board pressed HR and the consultant on methodology and data sources. Commissioners noted spot checks that appeared to conflict with county website pay matrices and asked that the consultant explain why midpoints for some comparator counties differed materially from public postings. The board agreed to ask the consultant to revisit three named comparisons and to provide follow‑up answers before the budget is finalized.

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