COEUR d’ALENE — Kootenai County commissioners fielded questions from community members and shared their thoughts on growth, government efficiency and more during a Wednesday night town hall.

More than 40 people gathered at the Kootenai County Administration Building for the discussion.

One hot topic was how Kootenai County might emulate the efforts of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, which the Trump administration said is targeting waste in the federal government.

Commissioner Leslie Duncan said the Board of County Commissioners is already working to improve processes in departments under the board’s purview, such as Community Development, where staff have reduced wait times for processing and issuing building permits.

She said the county is also looking for ways to leverage technology against staffing shortages to avoid overburdening county employees.

“One of our focuses is on whether we’re able to use technology so we don’t have to fill those (vacant) positions,” she said.

Commissioners also weighed in on growth in Kootenai County.

Bruce Mattare pointed to a $50 million bond meant to preserve open space on the Rathdrum Prairie and other parts of the county, which voters rejected in 2023. Mattare said he’d like to see the matter on the ballot again, this time with greater efforts to educate the community on the bond and how passing it would benefit the county.

“Do you want to have that open space?” he said. “If not, you’re going to have a complete suburban sprawl.”

Duncan said managing growth requires decision makers to balance maintaining existing quality of life and providing for the future. While she supports preserving open space, she noted that Kootenai County’s economy relies on people who work in the service and hospitality industries, many of whom are being priced out of the housing market.

“People want to go to downtown Coeur d’Alene and eat,” she said. “How many servers can afford a $500,000 home? There’s no easy answer. I think that we all want to protect our way of life. That’s why we have to continue to have the conversation.”

During the public comment period, Kootenai County Assessor Bèla Kovacs encouraged commissioners to weigh the desire for open space against increasing demand for housing and rising costs.

“If you’re going to lock up space and restrict development, you’re going to restrict supply and I think you’re going to see an upward pressure on the value of homes,” he said. “Just consider that.”

Mattare said elected leaders should make decisions on growth and related policy with the community’s desires at the forefront of their minds.

“If people want to live a certain way, if they want a certain amount of density, then the elected officials should listen to them,” he said. “If people elected people into positions like ours and we run on that policy of less density, then we should be delivering what people want.”