COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — After almost a year of research and debate, the question of whether Kootenai County’s administrative structure should change now goes to county commissioners, as reported by our news partner the Coeur d'Alene Press.
The Optional Forms of Government Study Commission (OFGSC) formally submitted its recommendations Thursday.
The group voted 5-4 in support of increasing the size of the Board of County Commissioners from three to five members, as well as switching to the commission manager form of government.
Under that form, the commission manager handles administrative work that otherwise falls to commissioners and serves as chief budget officer, a role currently filled by the county clerk.
The commission manager’s role is not to create policy but to implement it.
The study commission also recommends the county clerk, treasurer, assessor, sheriff, coroner and prosecuting attorney remain elected positions, rather than appointed.
All recommendations are allowed under Idaho Code 31-5001.
Now county commissioners will decide whether to put the matter on the ballot.
If they do, Kootenai County voters will make the final decision during the November 2022 general election. The county’s legal department would draft the language used on the ballot.
In a contentious hearing that lasted more than four hours, dozens of individuals took the podium in January to share their views.
The vast majority of speakers opposed any changes to the county’s form of government, citing concerns about potential costs to taxpayers, opposition to government growth and concerns about an unelected official who is not accountable to voters.
Many said they don’t want the matter on the November ballot.
Commissioner Chris Fillios said Thursday he supports letting the public make the final call.
“You, the voters, get to decide,” he said. “If you want to keep things the same, so be it. If you want to change, that’s up to you.”
A green light from voters would make Kootenai County the first in Idaho to have five commissioners rather than three.
Ada County — the most populated county in Idaho, with about 507,000 residents — has three commissioners, as well as a chief operating officer.
Across the state line, Spokane County also operates with three commissioners, as well as a chief operating officer and a chief executive officer.
Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls, Hayden and Rathdrum all have unelected administrators who work with their respective mayors and city councils to manage the day-to-day operation of their cities, a role similar to the one recommended by the study commission.
About two-thirds of U.S. counties reportedly have either an administrator or an elected executive.
Fillios said the commissioners will likely decide whether to put the changes to a public vote by Labor Day.
The Coeur d'Alene Press is a KREM 2 news partner. For more from our news partner, click here.