Documented Record
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Kootenai County assessor grilled by commissioners after admitting to secretly recording employees, elected officials
KREM · 2023Kovacs admitted to secretly recording at least 15 conversations with elected officials and employees, including an executive session; the Kootenai County prosecutor asked him to preserve recordings and devices
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Sheriff's office relies on hundreds of special deputies
Coeur d'Alene Press · November 2023Reports Kovacs resigned from his Spokane County job in 2018 rather than be fired following an investigation into his behavior; multiple Spokane County staff described him as "paranoid," saying he forbade some employees from speaking to one another without him present
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Assessor no-show at solid waste fee meeting
Coeur d'Alene Press
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Commissioners criticize assessor's request
Coeur d'Alene Press
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ASSESSOR: Time to go
Coeur d'Alene PressCoeur d'Alene Press editorial calling for Kovacs to resign.
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Employees criticize county assessor
Coeur d'Alene Press
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Public records: Complaints about Kootenai County assessor mirror the issues that lost him his job in Spokane County
Coeur d'Alene PressDocuments how the pattern of behavior in Kootenai County mirrors the conduct that led to his forced resignation from Spokane County.
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Assessor's political policy draws concern from employees
Coeur d'Alene Press
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Commissioners, assessor spar over personnel policy
Coeur d'Alene Press
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Assessor plans to tax Post Falls-owned property
Coeur d'Alene Press
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Commissioners block assessor's challenge to political opponent's Idaho residency
Coeur d'Alene PressKovacs attempted to use his office to challenge the residency of a political opponent — commissioners blocked the effort.
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Bela Kovacs v. Kootenai County Board of Commissioners — Idaho Court of Appeals, Docket No. 51293
Idaho Court of Appeals · 2024The Idaho Court of Appeals ruled that the Kootenai County Commissioners' decision to cut Kovacs's salary from $90,000 to $45,000 was "arbitrary" and "an abuse of discretion," ordering retroactive reinstatement of his full salary plus cost-of-living adjustments. While the court's conduct criticisms of Kovacs stand, the retaliatory salary reduction was found to be legally unsound.
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Primary SourceCourt of Appeals opinion — Docket No. 51293Full ruling finding commissioners' salary cut arbitrary and ordering reinstatement
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Kootenai County assessor appeals to restore salary
KREM · 2024Coverage of Kovacs's appeal to have his salary reinstated after commissioners cut it in response to his conduct controversies.
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Commissioners block assessor's challenge to political opponent's Idaho residency
KREM · 2024Kovacs attempted to use his official authority to challenge the homestead exemption and Idaho residency of political rival Allyson Knapp. Commissioner Bruce Mattare (also KCRCC-endorsed) voted to block the challenge, stating the assessor produced no evidence of residency elsewhere.
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Kovacs v. Kootenai County Board of Commissioners — Idaho Court of Appeals, Docket No. 51293
Idaho Court of Appeals · 2024The Idaho Court of Appeals ruled that the Kootenai County Commissioners' decision to cut Kovacs's salary from $90,000 to $45,000 was "arbitrary" and "an abuse of discretion," ordering retroactive reinstatement of his full salary plus cost-of-living adjustments. Note: while the salary reduction was found legally unsound, the documented conduct that prompted it — secret recordings, missed deadlines, and the pattern of behavior described elsewhere on this page — remains a matter of public record.