Change hurts - and helps

Jon Ingalls' announced retirement a month from now further sets the stage for significant change in Coeur d'Alene city management. By giving up his position as deputy city administrator, Ingalls is leaving a significant leadership void and a six-figure pile of cash on the table.

Much has been made of Coeur d'Alene's pay scale, and you'll read even more about it in the months ahead. Three fresh new faces are joining the City Council in January, and all have indicated a willingness to explore the pros and cons of that scale and the actual work that goes with specific jobs.

Ingalls and his boss, City Administrator Wendy Gabriel, both collect hefty salaries - salaries that could have gone higher. Ingalls has not accepted a merit pay increase any of the past five years; his salary of $110,594 could actually have maxed out now at $125,465. Similarly, Gabriel has left money on the table. She, too, has declined merit raises the past five years and is receiving a salary of $123,024.

When you factor in benefits, those two positions cost taxpayers close to a third of a million dollars each year. Because we respect and appreciate the work Ingalls and Gabriel do and their leadership of the city's employment force, we're not going to suggest they're overpaid or underpaid. We will say that taxpayers will be best served by having the 2014 City Council thoroughly examine the city's job descriptions and pay structure, starting at the top.

While that's going to take time, the new council will have its hands full trying to fill more big shoes at the top of the organization. Other administrators who have recently retired include the chief of police, the planning director, the human resources director and the parks director. Add to that the departure of long-term mayor Sandi Bloem and council members Mike Kennedy and Deanna Goodlander, and the leadership chasm grows.

But with this seismic change comes opportunity. It's healthy for any entity - business, government, individual - to occasionally do a full assessment of the ways it's meeting its responsibilities. All of Coeur d'Alene's leaders will be missed, but in replacing them, the only acceptable challenge is to try to improve on what already was very good.