COEUR D’ALENE, IDAHO – The Kootenai County 9-1-1 dispatch center, which is part of the sheriff’s office, currently has only nine emergency communication officers (ECOs) providing round-the-clock services, while it is budgeted for 25 department positions.
According to Lieutenant Ryan Higgins, the department “has had staffing issues as long as anyone can remember,” and his goal is to bring the department up to 17 ECOs in the next year.
Higgins brought a petition forward at the county commissioner’s human resource meeting on Thursday, December 7, 2023, requesting signing bonuses for lateral transfers and retention, as well as an improved pay matrix for current employees, new hires, and supervisors.
“We are on the precipice of a disaster in that department,” stated Commissioner Bruce Mattare. Not only is retention a problem, but the county can not get applicants through the hiring process. Out of 125 applications in six months, only one person passed the background qualifications. Sylvia Proud, the head of the human resource department, says it would be helpful for the state of Idaho to adjust their criteria for background checks. Commissioner Leslie Duncan requested the sheriff’s office work with the legislature in the upcoming session to see what relief they could provide by way of amending state requirements.
The discussions also included the exorbitant costs to hiring a contracting service to fill the staffing shortage. This idea was presented by Proud as a means to give immediate relief to existing staff. The bonus and pay matrix proposal by Higgins would have a $169,793 impact on the budget at currently staffing levels, whereas using a contracting service could reach up to $200,000 per position at $100 per hour cost to the county.
The motion to approve bonuses and adjust the pay matrix passed 2-1, with Commissioner Bill Brooks voting against.
