Kootenai County staff says rising costs compelled 3% measure

A staff member for Kootenai County told the board that rising personnel and insurance costs left county officials "compelled to do the 3%." The staff member cited a $1,800,000 increase in health-insurance costs, step-pay adjustments that raised the FY26–FY27 baseline by $2,000,000, an additional $740,000 in steps planned for FY27, and $1,345,000 in jail overtime. "So that net increase to the budget this year is $5,885,000," the staff member said.

The staff member said those increases make the county’s current budget trajectory unsustainable and warned that, without the 3% measure, the county would face significant expenditure cuts—"and that would be staffing," the staff member said. The remarks tied recent actions (including a $2,200,000 increase approved a few months earlier) to the present shortfall and called on elected officials to work with staff on long-term solutions to personnel and benefit cost growth.

The staff member framed the 3% as a near-term step to avoid immediate staffing reductions while the board and elected officials consider policy changes. No formal motion or vote was recorded in the provided transcript; the staff member presented figures and urged collaboration rather than announcing a final decision. The staff member concluded by saying further review of steps and long-term fiscal strategies will be necessary to mitigate recurring baseline increases.