In today’s Coeur d’Alene Press skews paper article headlined Kootenai County looks to 2015, writer David Cole included comments from County Commissioner-elect David Stewart.

Some of Stewart’s comments suggested the pay for newly-hired and relatively inexperienced Kootenai County Deputy Sheriffs needs to be raised to keep the deputies from leaving for departments that pay more.

The article quoted Stewart as saying, “Currently there are nine sheriff patrol deputy openings, due to them leaving Kootenai County for higher pay.”  That line screams for information which should have been included in the article.

1.  In addition to the nine vacancies reported among patrol deputies, how many other openings are there on the department for POST-certified law enforcement officers excluding deputies who only work detention?  By experience level and position, what is the distribution of POST-certified vacancies throughout the department?

2.  Among those nine patrol deputy openings mentioned in the article, how long had each deputy been on the department?

3.  How exactly did Stewart determine those nine patrol deputies left Kootenai County for higher pay?  More to the point, how did Stewart independently determine that “higher pay” was the only reason and the most compelling one for the deputies leaving?

That last point is very important.  The article implies the only reason for the nine patrol deputies leaving is for higher pay.  Pay them more, problem solved, right?  Maybe, but probably not.

We have to assume that Kootenai County deputy sheriff applicants know what their gross and net pay will be for each pay period.  We also have to assume the applicants know when they can expect pay increases.

If we believe that prospective deputy applicants can predict their annual earnings with some accuracy before even applying, then we have to also assume they believe their annual earnings will be adequate to meet their expectations or at least their basic needs. It isn’t likely they’re going to expose themselves to the rigors of recruitment testing, entry-level training, and probation if even before being hired their intention is to leave Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office after only a brief time there.

Doesn’t that suggest there might be other reasons in addition to higher pay for the deputies leaving?

When an employee resigns, it is common for the exit interviewer or resignation form to ask why the employee is leaving.   There are “safe” reasons that won’t come back to haunt the departing employee when he is seeking new employment.  Seeking higher pay is probably the safest reason an employee can list for leaving.

Other more accurate and constructive reasons an employee might list for resigning may cause the departing employee to be labeled “not a team player” or “troublemaker” or “agitator.”  Among the “unsafe” reasons a departing employee might give would be “poor leadership by the command staff,” “advancement and assignments based on favoritism rather than  merit,” “too few opportunities for assignment diversity and career advancement,”and “lack of adequate in-service training.”

The skews paper article reported, “In just a few more years the senior level command staff and sheriff deputies will be retiring, taking with them their years of knowledge, experience, and more importantly, life experience,” Stewart said.  Sheriff’s deputies with only a few years experience will be all that’s left to fill the void, he said.”  That’s an interesting statement, because it suggests opportunities for advancement in the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office occur primarily when someone retires.

OpenCdA hopes that after they are installed, new Kootenai County Commissioners Eberlein and Stewart take a very critical look at any county department which asserts higher pay is the only tool needed to attract and retain employees.   Pay can be a factor in employee retention, but it is rarely the only factor and often not the controlling one in law enforcement agencies.