Kootenai County building and planning divisions warn staffing shortages may cause delays

COEUR d’ALENE ­— Staff at Kootenai County’s building and planning divisions warn that people looking to obtain permits and set up inspections may experience delays in the next few months due to staffing shortages.

Community Development Director David Callahan supervises the divisions and said they are currently operating with a “shoestring staff” at the moment. 

“It’s going to be problematic for the next couple of months, even if we’re lucky,” Callahan said.

Some positions have been filled in the building division, but delays are expected as the hiring and training process intensifies.

Callahan identified delays have primarily been within the building division, with building permit plan reviews taking about three months compared to the desired time of about three weeks.

Building permit field inspections are scheduled about seven or eight business days out, as opposed to the two to three days the department aspires to achieve.

There are still openings for permit technicians, planners and a professional engineer/landscape architect to round out the division to its 40-member staff.

Finding fully certified staff ready with all of the necessary training has been difficult for the department, and even for entry-level positions a new hire may not be fully onboarded for up to a year.

“Some of our work is very technical, especially on the building side. But even on the planning side, the planners typically have a master’s degree,” Callahan said.

Planner salaries are in the $45,000 to $50,000 range with professional engineers or landscape architects making around $90,000. Permit techs are paid hourly.

While the division works on becoming fully staffed, Callahan recommends contacting staff with questions before starting proposals to cut down on potential issues later.

“It’s always easier to get things squared away properly from the beginning. Anyone who has any questions, please just call us first,” he said.

Many of the forms the department receives are incomplete, which adds a lot of time to the process of sorting through all of the additional paperwork.

“They feel pressure from their clients and feel like if they just get their foot in the door, that’s better than not having anything, but, actually, the reverse is true,” Callahan said.

To contact the planning division, call 208-446-1070, and to call the building department, call 208-446-1040.