COEUR d'ALENE - Kootenai County's insurer has paid out more than $1.5 million to settle claims against the county in the past three years - and the tab continues to grow.

A report distributed to the county's elected officials in January shows that from 2011 to 2013, the Idaho Counties Risk Management Plan handled 127 claims involving Kootenai County, several of which haven't been closed or are still being litigated.

The Press obtained a copy of the report through a public records request, along with an audio recording of a January elected officials' meeting where the county's claims were discussed.

Commissioner Todd Tondee, during that meeting, said the $1.5 million figure didn't include funds ICRMP may have set aside as estimates to settle claims that hadn't yet closed.

"The set-aside report that we got from them when they were up here was quite a bit more," Tondee said.

Commissioner Dan Green told elected officials at the meeting that he knew the document is a public record but cautioned against elected officials distributing it within their departments. He said the intent was to make sure elected officials understood the cost of the claims.

"We're in this together," he said. "Not trying to throw anybody under the bus or anything. ... Hey, we can do a better job. It's costing all of us."

According to the summary report, 2011 claims are closest to being concluded and 2013 claims are "far from" being closed.

"For our size organization, we're not out of the norm," Tondee told The Press on Wednesday. "Nobody likes to pay or see these claims. Some of them are county liability, some are not."

A total of 43 claims were submitted to ICRMP in 2011, including three in the category of errors and omissions - which includes employment claims - and 19 police liability claims. Both categories include claims that haven't yet closed.

So far, about $765,000 has been paid to settle claims from 2011. The bulk of that, nearly $558,000, was for errors and omissions claims and about $130,000 was paid for police liability claims.

The insurer fielded 50 claims in 2012, including five errors and omissions claims - with some still not concluded - and 15 police liability claims. A total of $317,000 has been paid toward 2012 claims including $148,000 for auto claims and $136,000 for errors and omissions.

Police liability claims for the year 2012, which have all been paid, totaled $3,300, a decrease of about $27,000 from the previous year.

Last year, 34 claims were submitted with $462,000 paid so far. That figure includes $365,000 for errors and omissions and about $77,000 for auto claims.

Of the four settlements and payouts to former employees that The Press has reported on in the past year, only one came from ICRMP.

Kenneth D. Stone, a former deputy prosecutor, received $315,000 from the insurer to settle a wrongful termination and age discrimination suit against the county.