Kootenai County placed a 911 operations manager on paid leave for more than a year before County Commissioners voted to pay her $60,000 as part of a confidential settlement agreement.

Amber Schafer filed a tort claim seeking more than $1 million in damages in March 2013 - a year after she was placed on paid leave while the county investigated "alleged personnel violations," according to the claim.

In December 2013, about a year and seven months after she was placed on leave, County Commissioners agreed to pay her $60,000, in addition to a $12,500 cash liquidation of her VEBA employee benefits account, and an undisclosed amount of accrued vacation pay.

According to a July 2013 salary study, Schafer was earning nearly $57,000 per year. The Press is awaiting response to a public records request that might reveal how long Schafer remained on the county payroll after being placed on leave.

The Press could not locate Schafer, and attorney Larry Beck, who filed the claim, did not return a call seeking comment. Sheriff Ben Wolfinger did not return a call seeking comment.

Darrin Murphey, a county civil attorney, addressed the settlement at a Dec. 17, 2013, Commissioner's Meeting.

Murphey said the settlement agreement "contains covenants and clauses which are exempt from public disclosure," according to an audio recording of the meeting. He suggested commissioners delegate authority to one commissioner to sign the agreement.

Commissioner Todd Tondee was nominated and approved to sign the claim on behalf of the county. Commissioner Todd Tondee declined comment, saying he was trying to protect the confidentiality of the agreement he had signed.

In response to a records request, the County Clerk's office on April 25 released a ledger showing three payments made from the county's settlement amounts. Though dates and check numbers are listed, the Clerk's office redacted the recipients' names.

The Treasurer's office released copies of the canceled checks, but redacted the payee's names.

The checks include a $60,000 payment in December 2013, a $30,000 payment on Jan. 7 and a $12,000 payment in March.

Though The Press has been unable to confirm the names of those receiving the settlement checks, the $60,000 payment was made about the time Commissioner's approved Schafer's settlement.

The Press previously reported that the county paid $30,000 to former community development director Scott Clark and $12,000 to Christina Anderson, an employee of the Human Resources department.

The newspaper has also reported on payouts the county's insurer, the Idaho Counties Risk Management Plan, or ICRMP, has made to county employees. Kenneth Stone, a deputy prosecutor, was fired and then rehired after filing a federal wrongful termination and age discrimination suit.

Stone received $315,000 from ICRMP. The insurer also paid the county more than $30,000 to cover Stone's wages - though he didn't actually return to work - until he becomes vested in the state's public retirement system.