County considers 1 percent tax hike

COEUR d'ALENE - The Kootenai County commissioners on Wednesday tentatively agreed to fund a 3 percent wage increase for county employees.

The board on Wednesday also tentatively agreed to increase property taxes in the county by 1 percent. It could have taken up to 3 percent.

The total amount budgeted for the wage increase is $1.04 million.

"Previous boards have kicked the can down the road to the point where now we have to make the tough decisions to take corrective action," Commission Chairman David Stewart said.

He pushed for a greater increase.

"Good people are very hard to find," Stewart said. "We need to maintain and keep the people that we've got here - if not attract other highly skilled people."

Those primarily affected would be the 565 county employees on the general pay plan, which doesn't include sworn Kootenai County Sheriff's Office personnel or 911 division employees. Deputies and 911 employees are on separate pay matrices. Money budgeted, however, fully funds those matrices.

Raises weren't approved for elected officials.

"When you raise your hand for elected office, in my mind, it's about public service," said Commissioner Dan Green.

"I knew exactly what the salary was when I took the job," said Commissioner Marc Eberlein. "I agreed to it for the length of my tenure."

Stewart wanted raises for elected officials, too.

The commissioners also tentatively approved a health insurance increase of $665,000, adding to employee compensation packages. That money would be in addition to the $6.7 million the county already spends on employee health insurance.

"We're maintaining benefits that are extremely generous," Green said.

Earlier this year, separate raises were approved for sheriff's office patrol deputies, command staff and jail sergeants.

The county has been having budget meetings since May 1.

Wednesday's budget meeting was the last major one of the fiscal year 2016 budget process.

The commissioners will be presented with the full proposed budget at an Aug. 26 budget hearing, when changes can still be made to the preliminary budget. They could approve a final budget at that hearing.