COEUR d’ALENE — The candidates in Kootenai County’s only contested primary race for commissioner squared off Friday night in a public forum.

More than 100 people gathered at Mountain Lake Bible Church in Coeur d’Alene to hear Commissioner Chris Fillios and Bruce Mattare answer questions about county issues — and how to solve them.

The pair are vying to win the Republican primary race for District 2 County Commissioner.

The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Employee Association sponsored the forum, where law enforcement was the hottest topic.

Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris, who attended Friday’s forum, has said KCSO is chronically understaffed and the remaining employees are overworked.

He’s repeatedly called on the Board of County Commissioners to increase the agency’s funding in order to attract and retain staff through higher wages, though commissioners disagree on the root cause of the staffing shortage.

On Friday, Mattare tied the challenge closely to wages, asserting that KCSO’s pay isn’t competitive with law enforcement agencies like the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office. He advocated for higher pay for KCSO staff.

Fillios noted that KCSO has not lost any deputies to other law enforcement agencies. Rather, he said, the deputies who leave typically do so for reasons like retirement or a career change.

The candidates shared different ideas about how to fund higher wages for KCSO staff.

Mattare pointed to KCSO’s Dispatch Center, which serves 14 area agencies. The center is reportedly short-staffed.

“The organization is coming apart,” Mattare said. “There’s no need for anyone in this county to call 911 and get hold music.”

He suggested that area agencies should pay for the county dispatch services they receive.

“Why are the county taxpayers subsidizing 911 services for all the other districts that have their own fire and fleet?” Mattare said. “We should be charging for that.”

Norris stepped up to the microphone to say that’s already the case.

“We do charge some,” Norris said.

Mattare was Norris’ campaign manager when he ran for sheriff in 2020.

Residents of cities throughout the county already pay their share in the form of taxes, Fillios said.

While cities have no obligation to provide their own police force, Fillios noted the county is legally required to provide law enforcement services within its borders. The county cannot withdraw or deny that service.

“If Hayden turned around and said to us, stuff it, we still have to provide the service,” Fillios said.

Fillios said the county must fund wages through recurring revenue, rather than savings. To that end, he believes the sheriff should be able to ask the public directly for support.

“The only way that problem is going to get solved is by allowing the sheriff to have his own levy,” Fillios said. “That’s going to require legislative change.”

If commissioners raise property taxes by 3 percent — the maximum allowed per fiscal year under Idaho law — the county could see as much as $1.5 million in increased revenue.

That would cover raises for KCSO employees, Fillios said, but wouldn’t account for associated expenses like benefits for those employees and more patrol cars for newly-hired deputies.

Kootenai County’s “foregone” balance is $10 million, Fillios said. Under Idaho law, the BOCC can access just 1 percent of that total — half a million dollars, which won’t cover the proposed wage increases for KCSO employees.

“It’s not going to make a dent,” Fillios said. “These aren’t excuses. These are the realities that we operate under.”

Mattare countered that “every little bit helps” when it comes to funding law enforcement.

Other questions centered on possible changes to Kootenai County’s administrative structure.

The Optional Forms of Government Study Commission was formed last year to examine whether the county should make certain changes permitted under Idaho law.

One potential change considered by the group was whether the county’s officials should be elected or hired.

Mattare asserted that Fillios wants the power to “hire and fire” the sheriff and increase bureaucracy by expanding the BOCC.

The study commission, on which Mattare served as an alternate, recommended the sheriff remain an elected position, along with the county clerk, treasurer, assessor, coroner and prosecuting attorney.

The group also recommended the BOCC expand from three full-time commissioners to five part-time commissioners.

The BOCC is expected to vote on whether to place the recommended changes to the county’s form of government on the ballot in November.

Fillios has come out in favor of putting the matter to a public vote and letting Kootenai County voters have the final say.

The primary election is May 17.