Kootenai County sheriff seeks about $4.5 million in FY26 increases for staff, jail and vehicles

Kootenai County commissioners on June 10 heard a fiscal year 2026 budget review from the sheriff’s office that outlined roughly $4.5 million in requested increases across personnel, operating and capital budgets, including requests tied to jail medical costs, patrol staffing and dozens of vehicles and equipment replacements.

The sheriff’s office said the increases reflect county population and service growth: “Calls for service … have doubled,” and drug overdoses rose from 24 in 2010 to 73 in 2024, the sheriff’s office told the board during the presentation. The office also reported a 20% increase in mental-health–related calls for service over the same period.

Budget director Stephanie Drobni presented the budget highlights, telling the commissioners the sheriff’s office manages more than 30 separate budgets and was prioritizing personnel requests, capital asks and a five-year maintenance plan. Key personnel requests included four deputy backfills (requested at $507,076), a full-time Hayden lieutenant ($171,000, described as contingent on Hayden’s contract), a communications coordinator ($89,000), a recruiting sergeant ($132,000) and an interpreter stipend for 10 bilingual deputies ($25,892). The office also asked for two detectives (one ICAC-affiliated investigator and one Special Investigations Unit detective) at roughly $121,000 each, and an offender-registry specialist position at $71,000.

Drobni and other staff said some of the deputy positions were intended to backfill school resource officer (SRO) posts and to re-establish district deputies in portions of the county. County staff later clarified three SRO-backfill positions were identified as not backfilled (Timberlake, Twin Lakes and Hayden) and that one of the originally listed four vacancies could be reduced to three after HR follow-up.

The jail budget carried the largest single operating increase. Drobni told the board the jail’s FY26 operating request rose by about $1,000,634, driven by rising medication costs (about $200,000 more based on current spending trends), a contracted medical-services line aligned with the county’s Wellpath contract ($1,300,000) and higher off-site hospital and medical-provider costs. Food service was also projected to increase (Summit Food Service notified the county of a 5% increase). The presentation said housing supplies, uniforms and detention-response equipment also drove spending trends.

Capital and equipment requests included a long list of vehicles and replacements: 10 patrol vehicles plus one K-9 vehicle (combined request about $964,000), two detective vehicles ($108,000), a recruiting-sergeant vehicle ($93,000), an animal-control truck ($58,000) and multiple replacement or specialty vehicles for 9‑1‑1 and other units. The 9‑1‑1 capital requests included a Ford Expedition (split with the county’s enhanced 9‑1‑1 fund) and a Mica Peak battery-bank replacement ($50,000) to improve site uptime for a critical radio tower. The sheriff’s office also requested a Skydio drone ($29,000) citing a likely Federal Aviation Administration restriction on Chinese-made drones, a sonar ROV ($48,998) for marine recoveries, and a variety of jail equipment: a property-room conveyor ($71,000), a MELSecure mail scanner ($55,000) and a vacuum sealer and food cutter to support increased meal production.

Commissioners and staff discussed funding sources and next steps. County budget staff provided a summary of the sheriff’s requests: approximately $1.5 million for A (personnel) requests, $1.2 million for B (operating/other) increases over FY25 adopted levels, and roughly $2.59 million in capital (C) requests when including the five-year plan projects, for an aggregate request in the neighborhood of $4.5 million (noting the five-year plan sits separately under board-managed funds). Budget staff said they would update summaries and provide percentage-change comparisons to the prior year on request.

The board repeatedly pressed for clarification on specific items. Commissioners asked for usage data before renewing a $24,000 annual automated license-plate reader (ALPR) subscription; sheriff’s office staff said training and deployment delayed measurable reporting but committed to compiling six months of usage data and providing an aggregate report around September–October. Commissioners also questioned the Hayden contract: staff said the city shifted capital spending into salary lines this year and may be using funds that previously paid an SRO to instead pay for a lieutenant; the board said such changes should be reflected in a revised contract so the county is not effectively subsidizing municipal services.

Staff also explained several maintenance and facility capital needs included in the five-year plan: parking-lot resurfacing and sidewalks at KC North, electrical panel corrections, an intercom replacement for jail units ($115,000) and safety/window tinting as an alternative to full ballistic glass replacement. Maintenance leadership said the county manages multiple sheriff campus sites and needs additional senior maintenance operators to keep up with daily workload and new facilities.

No formal votes were recorded during the session; commissioners asked staff for additional detail, totals and percent-change figures and set those follow-ups for the county’s ongoing budget process. The sheriff’s office and county budget staff said they would provide an updated summary of the A/B/C requests, the five-year plan items and the ALPR usage report as next steps.