Kootenai County approves paying sheriff's office new-hire bonuses on certification, not after one year

Kootenai County commissioners on Nov. 6 approved a revision to the FY2026 distribution of new-hire bonuses for the sheriff's office to pay bonuses upon certification rather than waiting until an employee's one-year anniversary, county staff said.

Captain Jeremy Heil, speaking for Undersheriff Nelson and representing the sheriff's office, told the board the change does not require additional money and would adjust which employees receive the previously approved bonuses and how the payouts are scheduled. "We're not asking for any more money. Just asking to, revise who gets them and how they're paid out," Heil said. He said the change was prompted in part by a January 2024 memo that authorized the bonuses and by the fact that some deputy jail deputies and ECOs achieve certification sooner than the one-year mark.

Supporters said paying upon certification would help the sheriff's office remain competitive with other agencies when recruiting for deputy and ECO positions. Commissioners asked whether paying bonuses up front or on the first paycheck would undermine retention and whether a repayment or clawback could be enforced if an employee left shortly after receiving the bonus. Heil said the office had not seen a pattern of hires resigning after the first bonus payment and that employees who left early often did not make it to a second bonus check-in.

A motion to approve the revised new-hire bonus distribution for FY2026 was moved, seconded and approved by the board. The county recorded the motion as approved; no new appropriations were requested during the discussion.

The change applies to distributions already authorized by the county and described in the January 2024 memo; the county did not amend the total amount of bonus funding during the Nov. 6 meeting.