Deputy shortage hampers Hayden

Kootenai County Sheriff Rocky Watson is so short on deputies that he can no longer adequately fulfill his contract to provide law enforcement protection to the cities of Hayden and Dalton Gardens.

In a memo to Kootenai County commissioners and mayors of both towns, Watson said he has been unable to fill 16 open deputy positions despite aggressive advertising campaigns and efforts to recruit from smaller departments.

Thirty-one people applied for the most recent position filled, but Watson said only one was qualified.

The staffing problem extends to the jail, Watson said. The law requires him to have enough staff there to supervise inmates, but Watson said there’s no similar law mandating him to have officers on the street.

“If we’re short on jail deputies, we’re pulling them from patrol,” he said.

Pay is the reason recruiting deputies – and keeping them – has become a problem, Watson said.

Kootenai County patrol deputies start at $17.19. Post Falls’ starting wages are $18 an hour, and Coeur d’Alene patrol officers are paid $19.31 hourly to start.

Wages are even higher across the border in Washington. Spokane officers are on average paid $1,000 a month more than Kootenai County deputies, Watson said.

Two employees resigned this week, the sheriff said, and four longtime and high-ranking employees are on the short list of applicants being considered for jobs in Spokane.

Commissioner Todd Tondee said the problem is serious.

“We’re losing staff, and I feel it’s because of the pay,” Tondee said. “We’re going to be addressing that in the budget process and looking at all of the options we have.

“It’s an issue when our 10-year sergeants are leaving and making more money as a patrol deputy for other departments,” he said.

The Sheriff’s Department will present its proposed budget to the commission Thursday morning.

Kootenai County sheriff’s Lt. Kim Edmondson said the department will continue to serve residents in Hayden and Dalton Gardens. The shortage of deputies just means there will be fewer deputies patrolling those towns – and they may not spend their entire shifts in city limits.

Dalton Gardens Mayor Dan Franklin said Watson’s announcement was a surprise.

“We had no warning that was coming,” Franklin said. He said the memo has been turned over to the town’s attorney and the City Council has not had a chance to respond.

Hayden Mayor Ron McIntire said he is confident the Sheriff’s Department will do the best it can with the resources it has to serve the residents of Hayden.

He said a long-term fix needs to be found.

“I’m concerned because we’re losing so many (deputies),” McIntire said. “We end up to be the training ground for the other departments these men leave to, which is generally Washington or Coeur d’Alene, because of higher pay.”