COEUR d'ALENE - It's sure to be hot political fodder this fall.

When Coeur d'Alene City Council and mayoral candidates hit the campaign trail leading up to the Nov. 5 general election, what the city should do about employee salaries could be tops among stumping points.

Keep the status quo?

Reduce pay slightly?

Or, whack wages completely?

Three City Council seats and the mayor's chair are up for election. That's the majority of the seven-member panel, so the salary answer should depend on November's outcome.

So if a candidate promises to reduce city employee salaries - and by the looks of early entries some will - there is a road map they could follow.

But first, some background:

The city currently contracts with three collective bargaining groups. They are the Coeur d'Alene Police Association, the Coeur d'Alene Firefighters Local 710 Union, and the Lake City Employees Association. They meet with the city to negotiate wages, working conditions, and benefits, and are contracted typically in two- to five-year deals.

Last fiscal year, about 230 of the city's police officers, firefighters and other employees were directly represented by the three collective bargaining representatives, according to city records sent to The Press then. The City Council could vote not to renew contracts with LCEA and the Police Association when they're up for renewal, but not so with the fire union. The fire union is the longest tenured union and the city is required to bargain with it per state statute. Changing that rule would have to be addressed in Boise, so a council candidate who promises to ax bargaining with the fire union should be stumping for a state seat, not a municipal one.

But if letting the current deals expire is the preferred route, the City Council may have to wait. As it stands now, LCEA is contracted to Sept. 30, 2017, as is the agreement with the Police Association.

The new council will be sworn in during the first meeting in January, 2014.

If the contracts aren't renewed, the City Council could then repeal the ordinance allowing collective bargaining, along with the city's general policy and procedures that establish wage scales and allow for grievance and appeal processes.

The City Council then could vote to make city employees - there are 355 full-time equivalent positions proposed for FY 2014 - at-will employees.

An at-will employee can be terminated without reason other than one, such as race, that would violate an employee's civil liberties, City Attorney Mike Gridley said.

As for the city's top salary earners, the department heads, they're currently at-will employees who can be dismissed "at the demand or request of the Mayor and the majority of the City Council," according to the city's 95-page personnel rule book. That's relevant because what to do with the city's top salaries will likely be the heart of the salary campaign come fall.

The topic came up again Tuesday during a budget workshop.

Coeur d'Alene has been criticized by some for having too many positions that earn $100,000 or more compared to cities of similar size.

City officials say it's because their employees work long enough to earn the compensation, and take on more responsibilities than what their job titles indicate. For example, the city's finance director also runs the parking agreements, where another city may have positions for both.

Others say they're simply paid too much, with merit pay increases being too easy to achieve.

Earlier this month, the city released the results of a salary survey that said the city's average employee earned 11.5 percent more than their counterparts at other government bodies, although the city's wage scales were considered competitive at between 2 and 3 percent above market. Critics said the survey missed the mark because it didn't focus solely on the top wage earners.

But five department heads agreed to early separation agreements late last year.

Recreation Director Steve Anthony, Parks Director Doug Eastwood, Police Chief Wayne Longo, Human Resources Director Pam MacDonald and Planning Director Dave Yadon each has accepted retirement packages. Their retirements will be staggered over two years, beginning the second half of this year.

The department heads combine for roughly 140 years of experience and are all in the top 16 wage earners for the city. The separation packages will save the city at least $145,000 over the next two fiscal years, according to the city.

The city's agreement with the fire union expires Sept. 30, 2018.

How collective bargaining came to Cd'A

The local fire union and the two collective bargaining associations were all established by 1982. In 1998, the Coeur d'Alene City Council repealed the ordinance pertaining to the two associations. The fire union is recognized by the state. The next year, 1999, the issue was put to a citywide vote. The right for public employees to collectively bargain was passed with 1,366 votes of approval and 965 votes against. Coeur d'Alene is the only city in Kootenai County whose employees have union membership.