The Kootenai County commissioners voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve $168,000 in pay increases for assessor's office employees, thanks to dollars available from eliminated department positions.

Assessor Mike McDowell requested the pay adjustments, a hefty slice of the $260,000 his department is saving by cutting five positions.

The commissioners were pleased that outside the raises, the eliminations will still save at least $62,000 this year, and down the road save $90,000 to $100,000 a year.

"This is what I've encouraged. This is where the bigger numbers are," said Commissioner Dan Green of pursuing savings by working with leaner staff. "I'm a supporter of our own department heads doing this."

The commissioners approved giving nearly all the remaining 61 assessor's office employees merit hourly bumps, ranging from $0.20 to over $2 an hour, to balance the extra workload they will take on.

Seven employees will not receive the hourly increases but bonus adjustments instead, because their current pay grades don't allow for hourly raises. The bonuses range from $0.20 to $1.60 an hour. Six employees will receive both hourly increases and bonus adjustments.

McDowell explained the remaining employees warrant higher pay because they are undergoing cross training to work in multiple departments.

"We're using everybody we've got in the office to maintain the same level of service we currently provide, while being more lean and efficient," McDowell said. "The best way to do that is move people around."

The raises are also a hopeful attempt to curb turnover in the office, McDowell said.

The office has lost seven appraisers in the past year alone, he said, due to higher wages available outside the county. A new employee in vehicle licensing also recently left to take a job in Kellogg, offering more than $4 more an hour.

"I can't blame her. But the point is she'd just been here six, seven months, just getting past the training curve, and was doing extremely well," McDowell said. "Hopefully we'll provide a more competitive pay environment to stem the loss of qualified people."

The pay rates in the assessor's office currently range from about $11 an hour to $31 an hour.

McDowell said he expects the pay adjustments to take effect at the end of the month. He hopes the commissioners will convert bonus adjustments for some employees to higher hourly rates next budget cycle.

Green said after the vote that streamlining operations and rewarding employee performance shows good management.

"Rewarding employees is great, and we have a net savings," he said. "It accomplishes two things."

Commissioner Todd Tondee said the commissioners have prodded other county elected officials to take similar steps, and the commissioners have done likewise with their own staff.

He hopes to see more among other departments, he added.

"We're certainly looking at every opportunity to streamline," he said.

McDowell acknowledged that even with the pay bumps, the assessor's office will still likely be behind competitive wages.

"This isn't getting us anywhere near," he said. "But it's taking a significant step in the right direction."