Numerous wage studies have shown Kootenai County employees have been underpaid for years, but officials hope a new investigation will help stem the tide of staff turnover.

Since 1992, Kootenai County has conducted at least six wage studies intended to find the holes in employee pay. In September, the county commissioned AmeriBen Human Resource Consulting to address wage issues a seventh time. 

Kootenai County Human Resources Director Sylvia Proud said the county will pay AmeriBen consultants $3,490 for the investigation. Proud said the wage study will analyze approximately 50 county positions and likely conclude by next April.

"AmeriBen will collect salary data from selected employers and analyze the information to compare the market to Kootenai County salaries," she explained. "AmeriBen will also meet with HR to debrief findings and recommendations."

Kootenai County has 844 full-time, part-time, and seasonal/temporary employees. The average salary is $53,411. 

Proud said the county doesn't have a record of all the wage studies since the 1990s. However, the department knows of three investigations in the last decade — in 2013, 2015 and 2019. 

According to Press files, a 2004 story reported the county had hired three consulting firms to address salary problems since 1992. The article stated county officials paid HayGroup, a Los Angeles-based firm, approximately $60,000 between 2004 and 2005 to examine wages and agency functions. Including the HayGroup study, the article said the county had spent over $100,000 on studies since the 1990s. 

The last wage study was done in 2019 and found that several county pay plans were below market. Specifically, Proud said, the average pay of those on the general and attorney pay plans was about 8.10% below market, and sworn officers were 5.74% below market. 

Following that study, Kootenai County Commissioners approved a budget that included $1.7 million in wage increases. Of that amount, $900,000 was allocated for sworn and civilian Sheriff's Office employees.

The budget also had a 2% wage increase for about 75% of all county employees.

During August's fiscal year 2022 budget hearing, several Kootenai County Sheriff Office employees urged commissioners to re-evaluate jail staff wages. KCSO Lt. Kyle Hutchison said in late August that the jail had 12 vacant deputy positions. Deputies in the jail currently earn from $20.28 to $27.26 an hour.

According to the City of Coeur d'Alene website, police officers make between $25.58 and $39.70 an hour. Post Falls Police patrol officers earn between $22.36 and $28.46, online documents show. 

"I'm somewhat discounting this wage study because we're in uncharted times," KCSO Sheriff Bob Norris said in September. "We have employees who are leaving, not going to law enforcement, but now employees at Avista and other industries because everybody is increasing their hourly wages."

The lowest hourly wage for a full-time county employee is $14.79, Proud said. Several clerks, secretaries and community service positions fall in this pay bracket.

Kootenai County's highest-paid employee, Prosecuting Attorney Barry McHugh, makes $62.77 an hour, Proud added. 

Proud said county commissioners approved salary increases for eligible employees on Oct. 10 of this year in an attempt to adjust wages. The average increase was 4%, she said. 

"The most recent increases included putting everyone on a matrix at the next step that was higher than their current salary and then giving them a 2.1% COLA," said County Senior Business Analyst Nanci Plouffe. 

Plouffe added that the county does not "specifically have money set aside for wage increases." 

Still, it's unclear whether that will slow the 18.44% turnover rate of county employees.

Turnover varies between the offices of elected officials. The breakdown of employee replacement rates between Jan. 1 and Nov. 1 of this year are:

Assessor — 23.73%

Board of County Commissioners — 25.82%

Clerk — 19.78%

Coroner — no turnover

Prosecutor — 20%

Sheriff — 11.04%

Specialty Court — 16.67%

Treasurer — 25% 

According to the Kootenai County website, kcgov.us, turnover rates have ranged between 18.5% and 21.2% since 2015. 

"Right now, I know retirements are affecting turnover," Plouffe said. 

To combat the ebb and flow of vacant positions, she said the commissioners budgeted $42,000 in the fiscal year 2022 for advertising campaigns.