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Thompson Consulting presents compensation study; HR asked to track caseload and recruitment data
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Summary
Thompson Consulting presented a compensation study May 15 that compared 95 Kootenai County positions to regional markets and found mixed alignment; HR was asked to supply monthly caseload and recruitment data to help target future adjustments.
Thompson Consulting Group consultant Carly Deeds presented a salary and benefits market study to the Kootenai County Board of Commissioners May 15, using Economic Research Institute (ERI) data to compare Kootenai County pay grades against selected regional markets.
Deeds said she reviewed 95 county positions against markets the county requested (Ada County/Boise, Bonner County, Canyon County, Coeur d'Alene, Post Falls, Spokane, Spokane County and Spokane Valley) and used ERI job-matching and midpoints. She explained that her equity standard was a market midpoint within ±5% of Kootenai County's pay midpoint. By that metric, about half of the positions met overall market average; roughly 40 positions were below market by an average of about 8% and five positions were above market on average. She emphasized the need to examine market frequency (how many of the selected markets align) and to dig into particular job descriptions where mismatches occur rather than relying on a single average for all markets.
On the sheriff's classifications, Deeds said several deputy and sergeant positions showed notable variation by market — citing Spokane as particularly higher for some roles — and recommended HR staff perform a deeper position-level review to determine whether job descriptions or grade placement need revision. She also recommended the county consider whether Spokane is a relevant competitor for every sworn role or whether local agencies (for example, Coeur d'Alene or Post Falls) should be weighted more heavily.
Deeds told the board Kootenai County's benefits package was competitive and singled out the county's health and wellness clinic as a distinctive offering compared with peer jurisdictions. She also presented a cost-of-living illustration produced by ERI: for a hypothetical family of four with an 1,800-square-foot home and two cars, ERI's sample calculations showed Kootenai County with about $5,000 in yearly disposable income on a median household income of $77,000, compared with larger disposable incomes in Spokane and Sandpoint in the samples presented.
Commissioners asked follow-up questions about how to use cost-of-living information when employees live across multiple counties and how application volumes and recruitment results should inform market alignment decisions. Deeds said recruitment and applicant volume can affect whether adjustments are necessary, and she noted compensation studies are one input among benefits, hiring demand and local quality-of-life factors.
The board directed HR to provide additional, regular data the prosecutor and other departments had been asked to track: monthly felony and misdemeanor intake, trial workload trends, and recruitment/application data for positions where market misalignment was suspected. HR said it could provide the prosecutor's intake/trend data monthly and perform deeper position-level analysis on items that the consultant flagged for review.
No vote was required on the presentation; commissioners thanked the consultant and discussed next steps for HR follow-up work.
