Commissioners weigh police contract increases, SRO costs and budget trade‑offs

Brandy Falcon presented proposed FY2027 contract calculations for patrol services the sheriff’s office provides to municipalities, school districts and the North Idaho College (NIC) Post Academy at the Feb. 10 Kootenai County status update.

Falcon provided position‑level loaded personnel costs and proposed overhead rates. Examples included the City of Hayden (personnel $934,419; with 40% overhead ~$1,300,000, a $114,000 increase), Dalton Gardens (personnel $170,000; with 40% overhead $238,000), and NIC Post Academy (personnel $206,000; with 25% overhead $258,000). Falcon also summarized SRO costs: Coeur d’Alene School District (one SRO) personnel $142,000; with 25% overhead $178,000; Lakeland School District (three SROs) personnel $427,000; with 25% overhead $534,000. Falcon said FY26 SRO expense is $834,000 and current school revenue for those positions is about $600,000 (roughly 65–70% coverage).

Commissioners raised several concerns. One said the county is entering the FY2027 budget process ‘‘in the red somewhere between 4 and a half and 5 and a half million dollars’’ and questioned whether county taxpayers should subsidize services for other taxing districts. Another commissioner argued the NIC Post Academy training position can provide cost savings by avoiding out‑of‑county training expenses and may merit subsidy; others stressed that any contract increases should be negotiated with agencies and that the county needs data on staffing, response times and overtime impacts before committing to higher recoveries.

Falcon agreed to calculate comparative scenarios (for example, whether jail overtime could cover SRO responsibilities if schools stop funding them) and the board directed the sheriff’s office to send the proposed numbers to all affected agencies (cities and school districts) for their budget cycles. Commissioners emphasized negotiations, not take‑it‑or‑leave‑it mandates, and asked for follow‑up reports to inform final decisions.

Public comment: Rob Hartman urged consistent application of contract numbers across districts and argued that if school districts choose other providers, freed deputies could reduce overtime and staffing strain; he framed the contracts as an opportunity to trim the county budget shortfall.

Next steps: Falcon and the sheriff’s office will distribute the numbers to agencies, produce requested comparative calculations, and return with more detailed staffing and overtime analysis to inform any formal contract decisions.