COEUR d’ALENE — County commissioners’ decision this week to reduce Kootenai County Assessor Bela Kovacs’ salary by half comes a year after the commissioners approved generous raises for themselves and other county elected officials, including Kovacs.

“A wage study indicated the county electeds were underpaid, and it was substantial,” Commissioner Chris Fillios told The Press Friday.

A resolution passed by the commissioners Sept. 9, 2021 included the following salary increases for the county's elected officials from fiscal year 2021 to fiscal year 2022, which is wrapping up now.

Commissioner District 1

$76,545 to $90,133

Commissioner District 2

$76,545 to $90,133

Commissioner District 3

$75,044 to $90,133

Clerk

$74,261 to $91,727

Treasurer

$74,261 to $89,638

Assessor

$74,261 to $90,388

Sheriff

$91,398 to $112,639

Prosecuting Attorney

$119,469 to $130,554

Coroner

$66,344 to $78,189

The 2021 resolution states the commissioners “have voted to bring the Elected Officials’ salaries up to the market salary shown in the 2019 wage study conducted by the Kootenai County Human Resources Department.”

The county’s 2022 budget adopted in August 2021 included $2.4 million for salary increases.

County Human Resources Director Sylvia Proud told commissioners during the Sept. 9, 2021 meeting that her office had been working for months developing a salary matrix for the general pay plan, the chief deputies and the attorneys.

“The strategy we used for this year to put employees on the matrix was to bring them to the closest step based on their current salary plus a cost of living increase of 2.1%,” Proud told commissioners. “... The elected official salary was increased to the 2019 wage study data that we had.”

The Coeur d’Alene Press requested a copy of the 2019 wage study and received documents from a March 2021 meeting of the county's elected officials. The meeting materials included a salary matrix and schedule, but no market analysis information.

The Press was unable to reach Proud Friday.

The 2022-23 county budget of $120 million approved this week by the commissioners includes a 6% cost of living wage increase for all county employees and elected officials except for Kovacs.

Commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday night to slash the assessor’s salary, citing failure to perform the duties of his office.

The pay for assessor Bela Kovacs will drop down to $45,000 beginning Oct. 1.