Item: Ceiling rises on city salaries: COLA increases can put department head pay above wage scale/Tom Hasslinger, Coeur d'Alene Press

More Info: Nearly every Coeur d'Alene city department head is earning the maximum amount allowed under their wage scale. Fourteen of the 17 department heads have hit the high end of what their pay bracket allows, meaning they're no longer eligible for merit increases. In one case, according to human resource records obtained through a Freedom of Information request from The Press, a department head is earning more than what the pay scale allows because of Cost of Living increases earned along the way.

Question: Will city salaries be a major issue in the 2013 Coeur d'Alene municipal elections?