Kovacs' salary on the agenda: County commissioners will consider reducing assessor's compensation when they meet today at 6 p.m.
COEUR d’ALENE — A new agenda item was added Tuesday afternoon to the official notice of today's special meeting of the Kootenai County commissioners.
The agenda for the 6 p.m. meeting, scheduled as a county budget hearing, was updated to include a new topic for discussion and possible action by the commissioners: "Elected Official Salary – Reduction in Assessor Salary."
The initial agenda, posted last week, did not include this item referring to Kootenai County Assessor Bela Kovacs.
Kovacs was appointed to the office of Kootenai County assessor in May 2020, following the death of county assessor Rich Houser. He won the Republican Primary election for the office in May.
Unless a write-in candidate for county assessor files by the Sept. 9 deadline, Kovacs will run unopposed. The deadline for a partisan candidate like Kovacs to withdraw from a race is Sept. 7.
Kovacs' recent months in office have been fraught with criticism.
Prior to the May election, 34 county employees signed a statement of no confidence in Kovacs' ability to lead the assessor's office.
Following the completion and mailing in June of the annual property value assessments, which initiated 700 requests for appeals from property owners, the assessor's office missed deadlines to provide the property values to the county auditor, who is Kootenai County Clerk Jim Brannon.
Brannon told The Press on Aug. 8 that the situation was unprecedented. He said that by law, his office should have at least a month to work with the values provided by the assessor. Instead, they had less than one business day.
The assessor's salary was set by commissioners for 2021-22 at $90,388, an increase from the prior year's salary of $74,261.
The special meeting will begin 6 p.m. at the county administration building. It will also be streamed live on the county’s YouTube channel.
The budget projects collecting the full 3% increase in property tax revenue permitted by law, estimated to translate into a little more than $53 million in revenue for the county.
Included in the county’s budget is an approximate 6% cost of living adjustment wage increase for all county employees. Wage study and cost of living increases are expected to total around $8.1 million
Also accounted for in the budget are funds associated with delinquent property taxes.
Idaho Code provides that the county can collect “costs, late charges and interest” whenever a property tax delinquency exists.
Though the county previously distributed a proportional share of penalties and interest to the taxing districts, Kootenai County Treasurer Steve Matheson announced in July that the county will retain the funds to cover expenses incurred in collections.
Matheson said Idaho law is ambiguous as to what should be remitted to taxing districts.
In the absence of judicial or legislative clarification, he said he intends to follow the tax law that provides that the county treasurer “shall deposit, and at all times keep on deposit … all public moneys coming into his hands.”
Several taxing districts have objected to Matheson’s decision and reasoning.
Post Falls Mayor Ron Jacobson said annual impact of the change on his city would be about $100,000. Coeur d’Alene’s anticipated share of penalties and interest would be about $70,000.
The cities of Post Falls, Coeur d’Alene, Rathdrum, Dalton Gardens, Spirit Lake, Harrison and Fernan Lake Village have reportedly submitted a joint letter to commissioners requesting that the county not withhold the revenues.
Final approval of the budget is expected at the regular business meeting Sept. 6.
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Maureen Dolan contributed to this report