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.

Assessor staffing and workload was another major focus. The assessor—s office provided a chart showing 3,482 parcels per assessor employee, with a stated target of roughly 2,800–3,000 parcels per appraiser. The assessor—s office representative told commissioners that full competency for an appraiser can take years and that training is highly time‑intensive. That presentation helped persuade commissioners to approve, for now, one commercial appraiser 3 and one residential appraiser 1 while deferring several other assessor hires pending follow‑up on vacancies and onboarding timelines.

Parks and Waterways director Nick Snyder told the board his division had not previously requested a new full‑time position in his 18 years and said growth in county population has outpaced staff capacity. Snyder asked for a park ranger position; commissioners approved that request for now.

HR recommended targeted adjustments across law enforcement ranks to remain competitive with nearby jurisdictions. Pack said command‑level pay for the Kootenai County Sheriff—s Office is substantially behind Spokane and recommended modest adjustments (about 3.5 percent) to avoid losing promotional incentives.

Sheriff—s office leaders and commissioners negotiated several competing priorities. The sheriff—s office asked for a communications coordinator and a recruiting sergeant; commissioners agreed to mark both "cut for now" in exchange for approving an SIU (Special Investigations Unit) detective position the sheriff described as a higher operational priority. The sheriff and his captains stressed they still need to prioritize recruiting and retention as the county prepares to add custody positions tied to an upcoming detention expansion.

On contracts, the board discussed a proposed lieutenant position to staff the City of Hayden contract. The sheriff said Hayden intends to cover the position—s salary and that the city is phasing toward full cost over several years; commissioners left the lieutenant and the related vehicle (a loaded cost staff cited as roughly $94,000) in the budget for now and asked the sheriff—s office to provide an updated revenue figure and an explicit timeline for reaching full cost recovery.

Several process and policy items drew attention: - Open positions funding: the county currently applies a 50 percent funding assumption for positions listed as open more than 100 days; staff will distribute a report of open positions so commissioners can consider eliminating or reprioritizing long‑open roles. - Career‑progression requests: the assessor, treasurer and other offices requested multiple step or grade changes; commissioners generally "kept for now" many career progressions but asked for focused presentations (for example, assessor BIAs and conversions) so the board can better evaluate operational impact before final approval. - Compensation study validation: commissioners repeatedly asked HR to have Thompson Consulting Group explain methodology, market mixes and any 80‑percent match rules used to map county jobs to market comparators.

Prosecutor Stan Mortensen told commissioners the office has lost recent staff to judgeships, city prosecutor positions and private practice and characterized the market for attorneys as competitive. Mortensen said the office is being selective in hiring but acknowledged turnover has increased recruiting pressure. On the comp study, he said some attorney positions were shown as the lowest paid in the selected market and urged careful validation.

Public commenters echoed concerns about the pay study and the Hayden contract. Ron Hartman told commissioners he had "no confidence" in the compensation analysis and warned against subsidizing city services from county taxpayers. A resident asked why two departments were eligible for employee bonuses.

The board scheduled follow‑up steps: HR will request clarification from the consultant on specific comparisons and methodology; several department heads (including the assessor) will return with targeted presentations showing staffing pipelines and training timelines; and the board will resume operating‑expense deliberations June 25, 2025.

Commissioners emphasized they would support additional staff when departments can "show" detailed, numeric justification tied to measurable workload metrics rather than anecdote alone.

Ending: The board made provisional decisions that reduced the personnel portion of the FY26 request by about $549,000 and left other items pending more detail; the county will not finalize FY26 personnel additions until HR and the consultant supply clarifying documentation and staff provide implementation plans and fiscal impacts.