Stay with Currie
Our View: Kootenai County's District 2 incumbent gets job done
Kootenai County Commissioner Rick Currie, a Republican, has the job now. Independent candidate Bob MacDonald had it once before. Democrat Stephen Caires has been waiting for the right time to run for it.
That's the choice facing voters in Commissioner District 2 in Tuesday's general election.
The most defining issue in the race may be whether Kootenai County's three commissioners should turn administrative duties over to a hired staffer and focus their attention on policy matters. In other words, return to the status that ended seven years ago when county administrator Tom Taggart was eliminated and his post with him.
Both Caires and MacDonald favor restoring the position. Currie, who once agreed, has changed his mind, calling the idea wasteful and ineffective and saying there's a reason no other county in Idaho operates that way. By the time salary, benefits and associated overhead expenses are added up, it would cost the county more than $200,000 a year he estimates. And the administrator would still oversee only half of county government, because that person would have no authority over other elected county officials and their offices.
Caires insists the position would provide professionalism and the continuity that the office needs when there is turnover among the commissioners. He thinks commissioners' salaries could be reduced from $69,000 a year to somewhere in the $45,000-$50,000 range. That savings would cushion the cost of hiring an administrator.
At the same time, Caires is interested in studying the merits of expanding the number of commissioners from three to five. Even if the salary reduction were to happen, that would wipe out its savings.
In concept, putting a professional municipal administrator in charge of day-to-day operations at City Hall has merit, as does enlarging the policy-making body for a rapidly growing county to more than three people. But the midst of a precipitous economic decline is not the best time to be tackling it. And lowering the salary for the people you want running your county would make it hard to attract capable candidates for what must be considered a full-time job.
All the candidates are talking about the importance of completing Kootenai County's comprehensive plan and following up with balanced and effective zoning rules. But they say little to put significant distance between them and their adversaries.
MacDonald has past experience as both a county commissioner and Coeur d'Alene city councilman. Caires is a respected retired school principal and coach. Both are capable candidates who could be expected to perform well if elected.
But Currie, a public official who prides himself in traveling his district, is performing well now. Neither challenger has made the case why he should be replaced, and we recommend his re-election.
