Sheriff reflects on first year in office

COEUR d’ALENE — Over the summer, a man approached Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris in a local store to air a grievance.

The man lived along the Spokane River and said he felt like he lived in a police state, due to the heavy presence of law enforcement on the water.

Later, Norris checked his email and found a message from a different resident — one who complained that he never saw any police on the Spokane River.

It’s the kind of conundrum elected officials often face when listening to their constituents. Somebody will always be disappointed.

“If I wanted to make everybody happy, I would be selling ice cream,” Norris said with a laugh.

Norris took office on Jan. 1, 2021.

In a year marked by an ongoing pandemic, serious staffing problems and other issues, wake zones — or lack thereof — on the Spokane River was one of the most contentious issues Norris faced.

It’s also an example of his approach to policy.

KCSO uses certain metrics to gauge problems on waterways, such as deaths, significant injuries and crashes. But Norris also wanted input from the public.

“It was somewhat split on how to resolve the issues on the Spokane River,” he said. “I felt like I needed to have a town hall meeting to listen to residents directly.”

Opening avenues of communication between the public and KCSO was one of Norris’ top priorities when he took office.

To that end, he formed a citizen’s advisory council and a clergy council. He’s also made himself available through town hall meetings and events like “Coffee with a Cop,” where he can hear concerns and answer questions in person.

“It helps me make a determination on how we’re going forward on enforcement or policy,” he said.

Perhaps the greatest challenge KCSO faced during Norris’ first year at the helm was one shared by many organizations: attracting and retaining employees.

Staffing shortages at the jail create an unsafe environment for inmates and deputies alike, while a “critical” shortage of 911 dispatchers can create a delay in answering non-emergency calls for service.

“We’ll probably be looking more at online reporting, which I’m not a big fan of,” Norris said.

He attributes staffing difficulties mostly to wages. Control room operators make about $16 an hour, for example, while booking clerks and jail technicians start around $14.52.

These positions are critical to the jail — and they pay less than some fast-food jobs. Add soaring housing costs into the mix and attracting new hires from outside North Idaho becomes a near impossibility.

Some employees are leaving KCSO to work in different industries that offer better pay.

Deputies who earn about $21 an hour are becoming linemen and electricians, for instance. A dispatcher recently accepted a different job with the same pay — but one that offers remote work and a more flexible schedule.

Kootenai County employees could see a boost in pay through a new wage study that seeks to address issues of staffing and turnover.

In the meantime, Norris said he’s focused on courting new hires who are working in other industries.

“We have to concentrate on attracting talent who already have housing here,” Norris said.

Another challenge KCSO faces is keeping up with increasing calls for service that accompany population growth.

Norris pointed to Hayden as an area where resources are stretched thin. The city contracts with KCSO for patrol deputies.

With around 15,500 residents, Hayden is the 18th most populated city in Idaho but spends less on law enforcement than similarly-sized cities.

The city of Jerome, which has a population of about 11,600, allocated around $2.6 million to the police department in 2021.

Hayden budgeted a little more than $403,000 for public safety in 2022. That number includes about $80,000 for law enforcement services that officials agreed to add to the previous year’s budget.

Norris said Hayden officials are working with KCSO to increase the city’s level of service. It’s an issue with no easy fix.

“This problem didn’t happen overnight and it’s not going to be solved overnight,” he said. “But Hayden is no longer a community of 500 people.”