Innovation might pay

COEUR d'ALENE - Innovative workers who can save Kootenai County a little money, may be able to pocket some of the savings, if commissioners approve a new bonus program they discussed on Monday.

The Innovation Award Program, which is still in a conceptual stage, would award county employees with a one-time bonus for developing processes that would save taxpayers money into the future.

"They could earn a bonus of up to $5,000 if they come up with something innovative to save money," said Commissioner Jai Nelson.

While there are no details yet, Nelson envisions a program where employees would present their ideas to the elected official who oversees their department.

That elected official would determine if the proposal has merit.

"Then we can look at them and determine if they make sense," she said.

"I support the concept," said Commissioner Todd Tondee.

"Private companies do this and the employee usually gets 1 percent."

But what happens if the employee winds up saving the county $1 million, or more?

"That's why we put a $5,000 cap on it," Nelson said, adding they a considered a percentage, but realized that could result in a significant bonus.

Tondee was also concerned about making sure that any innovative proposal works before the employee gets paid.

"I don't want to pay someone for an idea that doesn't work," he said.

Commissioner Dan Green also liked the concept.

"This is what I call more private sector thinking," he said. "We kind of did this a little bit with solid waste."

Commissioners didn't take any action on the concept, but agreed to do more brainstorming before bringing the issue forward for approval.