Manager proposal to be floated again

By BRIAN WALKER

Staff Writer

COEUR d'ALENE — Discussions about hiring a county administrator are about to begin again in Kootenai County.

Commissioner Bill Brooks, a real estate agent who took office last month, said he believes the county would be more efficiently run with a professional county manager and seven part-time commissioners rather than no administrator and three full-time commissioners with varied backgrounds.

"I would love to work myself out of a (full-time) job," he said. "We need a person with experience of running large organizations instead of real estate agents and hardware store managers. It would make a big difference in how the county proceeds into the future."

Brooks' proposal would be to pay the part-time commissioners about $1,000 a month with benefits, a far cry from the $72,858 in annual salaries commissioners are currently making ($84,430 including benefits).

"We need county commissioners who, when they get the job, this is not the highest-paying job they've ever had," he said.

Brooks said each of the county's three districts would have representation from two commissioners, plus one of the commissioners would be at-large.

Terms would be for four years only to improve continuity of board members, he said.

Voters would vote for candidates in their own districts rather than the current countywide voting format.

Brooks said he believes the proposal would translate into better representation on the board for residents.

"People need to feel like their concerns are being addressed," he said.

Commission Chairman Chris Fillios said he doesn't believe the appetite is there right now for a county administrator in Kootenai County.

"There may be some merit, but we'd have to look at it strongly to see if it works in Idaho," he said. "And, right now, there is (no county administrator in the state). This couldn't be done without serious research."

Hiring a manager for Kootenai County was also discussed in 2012, but it wasn't approved by a different group of commissioners. Brooks said he believes that was because the advantages weren't presented well.

The administrator, Brooks said, would be helpful during the budget process —currently a daunting, cumbersome task involving several meetings for commissioners. The county's latest budget was $94 million.

The move would also reduce political philosophies in the budget process, Brooks said.

"Good old boys don't want a county administrator," he said. "The budget should not be political. It's administrative. Pickle barrel politics have got to go if we want progress."

The result with an administrator would be efficient spending of revenues, Brooks said.

If cities such as Rathdrum and Hayden have administrators, Kootenai County, especially with a much larger budget, should as well, he said.