WALLACE — Shoshone County commissioners recently met with Clerk Lori Osterberg to discuss the vacant public works director position and concerns over its starting salary. 

Former public works director Jessica Stutzke resigned in January, and the county has been unable to fill the position. As of last week, only one application had been submitted. 

Commissioners Jeff Zimmerman and Dave Dose both expressed concern about the vacancy, though for different reasons. 

“Like everything else, the roads department picks up during the summertime with parks and all the extra jobs,” Dose said. 

“We’re at a liability right now without a roads supervisor,” Zimmerman said. 

The salary discussion has been ongoing for several weeks. On April 1, commissioners approved an increase to the starting salary to $58,000 from $52,000, matching the amount Stutzke was earning at the time of her resignation. Last week, commissioners voted to raise the salary again, increasing it to $65,000. 

Osterberg cautioned that the additional $7,000 — along with the corresponding increase in benefits — would require adjustments elsewhere in the department’s budget. 

“If you do that, you’re going to have to take it from someplace else,” Osterberg said. 

The discussion expanded into broader concerns about the public works budget, which has been in a state of uncertainty for about 18 months. 

Stutzke and her predecessors had long operated the department with minimal reliance on county-levied tax dollars. However, significant cuts and holdbacks in state and federal funds over the past year sharply reduced the department’s ability to function. 

Last summer, Stutzke was forced to cut 40% from her $4.2 million budget. 

Some relief came earlier this year when it was announced that funding from the Secure Rural Schools Act would be approved and distributed. The program, intended to offset declining timber revenue, requires a share to go to local school districts, but Shoshone County is expected to receive a combined $2.3 million for fiscal years 2024 and 2025. 

However, the county also recently learned that its state Highway User Revenue allocation was reduced by more than $700,000, down from an anticipated $1.8 million. 

It was also noted during the meeting that Secure Rural Schools funding was only approved through last year and must be reauthorized at the federal level for any future distributions. 

While the SRS funds have helped offset some of the earlier budget cuts, the funding covers only two years. Combined with the reduction in highway revenue, the county faces the challenge of finding room in the public works budget for the $7,000 salary increase. 

A recent county wage study identified the public works director position as one of several department head roles needing immediate adjustment due to low pay. Osterberg said she revisited the data and believes that conclusion may not be entirely accurate. 

“By the time you add in all the extra days we have off and this and that, and our person is not certified in many of the things where other counties are,” she said. “Hence the reason they got a much larger wage that wasn't taken into account.” 

Osterberg said she was not suggesting the position had been overpaid, only that the gap was smaller than initially believed. 

“Nobody makes enough money,” she said.