Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Personnel Reclassification topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
County approves reclassification of judicial staff attorneys; pay step to be set separately
Summary
Kootenai County commissioners approved reclassifying judicial staff attorneys from ATP 1 to ATP 2 at their Nov. 20, 2025 HR meeting; staff estimated the change could add about $34,000 to this fiscal year’s payroll and said pay-setting will be handled separately when the county’s compensation matrix is finalized.
Kootenai County commissioners voted unanimously Nov. 20 to approve the reclassification of specialty court judicial staff attorneys from ATP 1 to ATP 2, a personnel change HR said reflects higher responsibilities and bar-passage requirements.
HR presenter Lexi Pack told commissioners the county used the Korn Ferry method to evaluate an updated job description and that the reclassification aligns those attorneys internally with comparable positions. "Using the Korn Ferry method, we evaluated the job description… and we are asking for the approval to move these judicial staff attorneys from ATP ones to ATP twos," Pack said at the meeting.
Commissioners and staff discussed the budget implications. An unnamed commissioner warned that approving the reclassification now "likely is going to be a $34,000 increase for this year," and staff said a revised compensation matrix being prepared by Stan and reviewed by HR could alter grade placement later. To avoid giving affected employees two raises, commissioners discussed placing them at a pay step now and ensuring that their pay would remain the same when the new matrix is adopted.
The board moved and seconded a motion to approve the reclassification; the motion carried by unanimous voice vote. The transcript records three affirmative votes and the chair declared the motion carried. Commissioners and staff agreed that the separate pay action would be scheduled for a future meeting (either the next business meeting or the HR meeting on Dec. 4) so that pay implementation and any required budget adjustments can be processed.
The action aims to address hiring and retention difficulties in specialty court, where HR said the combination of required credentials and heavier caseloads has made recruitment challenging.
Next steps: staff will coordinate with HR, finance and county administration to bring a pay action to a forthcoming meeting so the reclassification can be fully implemented.
