COEUR d'ALENE - It's the only city in Kootenai County that is unionized.

Three times over.

The city of Coeur d'Alene's three unions cover the fire department, the police department and most of the remaining city workforce, although even the non-union employees end up receiving the union benefits anyway.

All three contracts with the unions and the city are similar.

Employee benefit packages are the same, and 3 percent cost of living increases are included in all of them - although for the last two years the sides have opened the contracts and agreed to amend them in order to forgo the full 3 percent COLA increase for budgetary reasons.

Because of shrinking coffers, the city froze wages two years ago. Last year the sides agreed to a 1 percent increase.

Those have been the only times the sides have adjusted the COLA portion since all three were adopted in 1999.

Representatives said it's a good example how the sides work together, and all the parties involved are aware of the city's best interests.

"It's not our goal to put the city into financial ruins," said Jake Bieker, union president for the local 710 fire department, on the compromise between the groups and the city. "It's not beneficial for us. We're members of the community, we pay taxes. We want to live in a city that has a balanced budget, that's functional."

The sides opened up the contracts to prevent layoffs, but by not hiring for vacant positions - "slow hiring" - the city dropped 11 full-time equivalent positions in 2011 from the year prior.

According to the contract with the fire union, the starting salary for a firefighter is $41,685.

Over a nine and a half year period, that firefighter is eligible for 5 percent increase in salary by meeting standard or above performance - except in years six-and-a-half and eight-and-a-half. Including promotions and other increases for senior status, that wage could rise to $58,677. That does not include COLA raises, however, so the total could be more after that time.

Police have a similar structure, with a beginning wage also around $42,000, and 5 percent pay increases for the first nine years, save years six and eight, and not including COLA.

LCEA employees, essentially city employees other than police and fire, also are eligible for 5 percent increases over the same years.

"I would say we can justify our wages and benefits as comparable to other cities," said City Administrator Wendy Gabriel.

The city studies other cities' rates when setting their contracts, cities of similar size such as Pocatello and Twin Falls, but also larger cities in states with different taxing structures such as Spokane.

"Part of that is seeing who we could lose our employees to, but we've tried to keep that study updated, so we're not paying more as a whole package, which includes wages and benefits," Gabriel said.

In Coeur d'Alene, the average city employee wage, including the roughly 60 positions not officially represented by any of the associations, is $54,704.

The average wage of only union or association represented employees - so minus the department heads and exempt positions - is $48,942.

Pocatello, a city of 54,000 people and 512 full-time city employees, uses a fire union and police association. Its average police wage is $54,145, its fire department wage $54,060, and overall gross annual salary for all city employees is $44,817.

In Coeur d'Alene, the positions that are not represented by the collective bargaining groups still receive the terms negotiated by the LCEA, including the department heads who handle the contract negotiations.

At times third parties are present - including Council 2, LCEA's state chapter - but officials said the negotiating team, comprised of Finance Director Troy Tymesen, Deputy City Administrator Jon Ingalls and Human Resources Director Pam McDonald, has the most information to do the job.

Officials said they don't see a conflict of interest with that.

"I think it's better that the people who are at the table are the people who are doing the work, who are paying the bills, because you have a better understanding of both sides that way," Gabriel said.

Benefit packages for the three Coeur d'Alene city employee groups are the same, with the city paying for 100 percent of an employee's single plan medical coverage.

Of the 353 full-time equivalent positions, 308 are eligible for benefits, down from 310 last year. Currently 293 employees receive the benefits.

Families are not completely covered, with employees with dependents contributing at least 5 percent of the costs, but those amounts vary depending on the number of dependents included in the plan. Total, there are three plans from which to choose, the city paying a majority of the share save the at least 5 percent shares for family plans.

The first plan has zero deductible. The single rate is $507.62 per month, while families cost $1,323.97. The second option has a $200 deductible, and costs families $1,251 a month. The third option has a $500 deductible, with family rates at $1,145.57.

The average deductible for most employer-sponsored health plans in the United States rose to $1,200 in 2010, according to Mercer Consulting, a global human resource advisor.

Vision and dental plans are 100 percent covered for both the employee and family in the medical plan.

Budgeted this year for benefits is $6.8 million, up from $6 million last year, and $5.7 million in 2008-09. Wages over the same years went from $19.2 million to a budgeted $20.2 million this year.

For PERSI, the public employee state retirement system, the city is budgeted to spend $2.8 million. The year before it was $2.7 million, and $2.6 million the year before that.

Employees are eligible for 11 paid for holidays, including their birthdays. And representatives for the groups receive compensated time for union functions. The LCEA grants 96 hours off a year to represent the association, while the fire representatives are eligible for up to seven paid shifts, 168 hours, to represent the union each year.

For the city of Coeur d'Alene, it will monitor what happens in Boise next year.

As a service industry, employees are a chief expense for the city.

In fiscal year 2011, the city budgeted $29,944,013 in wages and benefits for all its departments.