COEUR d'ALENE - Tad Leach admitted that he was a little disappointed to retire from the Kootenai County Sheriff's Department this month.

The undersheriff - the No. 2 guy under Sheriff Rocky Watson - regrets leaving the department while it still faces so many issues, he said, like understaffing and antiquated facilities.

"The sheriff's department is in a building last updated in 1988, and that was for the department at that time, with no room for growth," said Leach, whose last day was Wednesday. "I would have liked to work one day out of a modern, honest-to-God facility."

But the 65-year-old still has confidence in the department, he said, after crowning his lifetime in law enforcement as undersheriff for four years.

He knows everything the department staff is capable of, he explained.

"I've worked in three law enforcement agencies, been the chief of one, and I have to say this department was the finest group of people I've ever worked with," said Leach, who previously worked for two police departments in Illinois. "You could have the Taj Mahal with gold-plated fixtures, but if you don't have the right people, you still don't have a functional organization."

Sheriff Rocky Watson said Leach faced a tough job, helping staff work around inadequate equipment and facilities.

"A lot of his (the undersheriff's) responsibility is getting the best bang for the buck, getting the best resources we can," Watson said. "He did an excellent job."

Leach, who has a bachelor's in business from Bowling Green State University in Ohio, an MBA from Loyola University in Chicago and a master's in administration of justice from Webster University in St. Louis, Mo., coordinated the law enforcement program at North Idaho College for more than a decade before becoming undersheriff.

He described the job as running day-to-day operations.

"It's implementing the policies and procedures the sheriff sets," he explained.

That involves managing the department's 300 employees by conferring with the majors of the operations, support services and jail bureaus.

The biggest challenge, Leach said, has been working around inefficiencies.

The issues have been heard before: An overcrowded jail, for one, which requires the expense of shipping inmates out of county and out of state to other facilities.

"It not only bothers me as sheriff, but as a taxpayer, that we're wasting money because we don't have an appropriate facility," Leach said.

The sheriff's department has outgrown its administrative building, he added, with closets and storage rooms used as offices.

The department is understaffed, too, he said. Low pay scale makes turnover an issue.

"We are below the state average of personnel per capita, and yet way above the average for crime per capita," he said.

The key to getting by, Leach said, has been relying on staff's dedication and ideas.

"One of the (keys) is to allow personnel to look at their own situations and come up with ideas for being as efficient and creative as we can, under the current circumstances," he said, adding that this had led to more efficient practices like processing evidence immediately at crime scenes. "The experience of the people in the department was really beneficial."

Leach contributed, too, helping obtain funding for more gas-efficient detective vehicles that aren't as identifiable as patrol cars.

"You can't do this job by yourself. It takes the whole organization," Leach said. "We've just got a great group of people from the top down. They made my job easy."

Replacing Leach is Travis Chaney, the former jail bureau commander.

Chaney, a 32-year veteran of the sheriff's department, has worked at all levels of the department, including patrol, detectives, SWAT and the jail, according to the department website.

"It's been extremely busy," Chaney said to describe the transition so far. "I have big shoes to fill. He (Leach) brought a professional dimension to the department, and a hard working spirit. He has not only been a professional, but he also has great skill and diplomacy."

Chaney added that he is ready to meet the standard Leach set, after working at so many levels of the department.

"It (preparation for the job) has been through my varied activity and experience and skills I've developed through the years," he said. "I'll work hard to represent members of the department and continue to pursue professional law enforcement in Kootenai County."

Watson, who tapped Leach to be undersheriff because of his law enforcement background, said the transition should be smooth.

"I'm going to miss Tad, but I'm looking forward to working with Travis," he said. "It's bittersweet."

Leach, originally from Evanston, Ill., previously served with the Wheeling Police Department, where he was deputy chief, and later the Lincolnwood department as chief.

He moved to Coeur d'Alene to work at NIC in 1993.

Leach plans on spending his retirement visiting with his four grown children and nine grandchildren, he said, and enjoying his wife, Sue, of 45 years.

"If there's one person I owe, it's her," Leach said, adding that Sue has been patient with the long hours of law enforcement. "That made the decision easy."