Elect, don't hire county officials

COEUR d'ALENE — Interviewees were clear at the Optional Forms of Government study commission meeting Wednesday night: The county structure is imperfect, but officials should remain elected.

Consisting of nine members and three alternates, the OFGSC is tasked with researching if the current Kootenai County structure best serves constituents. Through a series of ongoing interviews and data collection, the group will evaluate if there's any value in switching to a new form of government. If so, that proposal will go to county voters.

Since the study was first proposed in 2020, community members have voiced concerns against the possibility of making the six-row elected offices — Sheriff, Treasurer, Assessor, Coroner, Clerk, and Prosecuting Attorney — hired positions. 

On Wednesday, both former Assessor Mike McDowell and retired Chief Deputy Treasurer Laurie Thomas said that change could impact the "checks and balances" that regulate an elected official's power. 

"If the row elected official positions ceased and they become employees, ultimately, my fear is the taxpayer could lose some rights," Thomas said. 

Before retiring in January, Thomas served as chief deputy treasurer for 20 years. If the treasurer became hired, she suggested that the treasurer's ability to "challenge either a perception or an outright abuse by the board" could become an issue.

"I don't feel (elected officials) would have the same repercussions as an employee," Thomas said. "My fear is if an elected official is under the Board of County Commissioners, you're going to lose that ability to react in a timely fashion."

McDowell noted that the American founding fathers created county government to be representative and accountable to taxpayers — making it imperative to keep officers elected. 

"This structure emphasizes the importance of listening to our constituents," he said. "County government was not designed to be the most efficient form of government. It was designed to have checks and balances on authority." 

During McDowell's 42 years as a county employee and elected officer, he experienced the brief creation of a county administrator. Tom Taggert, the former county clerk, acted as the administrator to help execute decisions by the board of county commissioners.  

The OFGSC has frequently heard from interviewees that the mass of administrative functions requiring commissioner approval can hinder long-range planning and legislative efforts. Through Idaho Code 31-5001, two optional forms — the county manager and county executive structure — allow an administrative figure to perform those tasks under the board's purview. 

McDowell said Taggert's work effectively reduced the amount of time spent on administrative actions through data collection and communication with other elected officials. 

"He was able to promote and follow through on projects as directed by the board, and I found his efforts effective," McDowell said.

In McDowell's opinion, the "best choice we have" for effective government operations would be to adopt a five-member part-time board of commissioners and hire a county manager. 

Referencing comments by previous interviewees that part-time commissioners would be inhibited by having fewer required office hours, study members Tamra Bateson and Kurt Anderson asked McDowell if he felt the switch could impact overall efficiency. 

"It would require quite a bit of energy on the part of the individuals," McDowell said, noting that when he was a Coeur d'Alene City Councilman, he would spend a few hours researching the topic independently. "Plus, I think the administrator or manager can also assist with condensing the information into the nuggets, if you will, of the best and most critical pieces to understand."

Thomas didn't express a preferred government structure. Instead, she posed that county commissioners could improve operational efficiency by redistributing specific responsibilities to elected officials' departments.

"One of the things that we have looked at was redefining those departments that fell under the board to flow through elected officials," Thomas explained. "You would then change that scope, and the commissioners could go back to doing their statutory obligations."  

Thomas noted that the board's reassignment of department oversight would likely be a majority vote and require receptiveness from the other officials. When asked by study commissioner Bruce Mattare why the county commissioners shifted departments more in the past, Thomas said, candidly, it was likely "viewed as a power struggle." 

"I think there gets to be a sense of worth, if you will, that revolves around the kinds of responsibilities that are provided," McDowell added.

Both Thomas and McDowell said most elected officials were fine, but some were not as cooperative.

"I have worked with several elected officials and boards," Thomas said. "Most of them have been good. We've had a few where the majority of us waited on the countdown for the next election." 

The two former officials also said the row positions should be nonpartisan. 

"Frankly, once you're in an office, you shouldn't be paying attention to the R's or D's or I's. You're there to serve the people of Kootenai County," McDowell said.

Thomas said she's seen political rhetoric increase in the community and, as a result, into the election process, which she deemed "really disheartening."

"Sometimes, I don't feel that we are getting the best candidates to run for office because of the political strings that have been attached," she said. "I think that you end up with a weakness in the government structure."