Bela Kovacs, Kootenai County Assessor

Coeur d'Alene Press · April 2026

He claimed credit for speeding up building permits, but his office has nothing to do with permits.
He has gone through five chief deputies in five years, and his own employees voted no confidence.

Coeur d'Alene Press · January 2026

He tried to use his official power to challenge a political opponent's Idaho residency and homestead exemption.
The county commissioners blocked him.

KREM · January 2026

He used his official authority to go after a political rival's Idaho residency and property exemption.
Commissioners voted 2-0 to block him; the third commissioner abstained due to a personal relationship with Kovacs.

Coeur d'Alene Press · October 2025

He announced plans to tax a city-owned parking lot in Post Falls that is legally exempt from taxation under Idaho law.
The Post Falls mayor pushed back; Kovacs had not discussed the plan with county commissioners before announcing it publicly.

Coeur d'Alene Press · September 2025

He implemented a policy allowing him to fire any employee who runs against him or "assists" the candidacy of a political rival.
Employees said the policy made no distinction between conduct at work and personal conduct outside the office, such as putting up a yard sign.

Idaho Court of Appeals · 2024

Commissioners cut his salary from $90,000 to $45,000 over his conduct.
A court ruled the pay cut was illegal and ordered it reversed, but his behavior remains on the public record.

Primary Source
Court of Appeals opinion, Docket No. 51293
Full ruling finding commissioners' salary cut arbitrary and ordering reinstatement

KREM · 2024

Coeur d'Alene Press · April 2024

He declared his office would no longer administer solid waste fees and then skipped the meeting called to resolve it.
His office also submitted a sweeping public records request to multiple county departments that generated nearly 24,000 responsive emails.

Coeur d'Alene Press · March 2023

He placed an employee on indefinite administrative leave without notifying the employee or following county HR procedures.
Commissioners warned that if procedure was not followed, it would expose the county to a $20,000 deductible in potential liability.

Coeur d'Alene Press · November 2023

His office was unable to meet critical deadlines for completing property rolls.
Experienced employees left citing a "toxic work environment," "his incompetence of the job," and "manipulating situations to deflect blame and responsibility."

Inlander · February 2023

22-page Spokane County HR investigation: Kovacs resigned in lieu of termination in 2018 after employees called him paranoid and said he tracked conversations he feared were about him.
The same patterns followed him to Kootenai County.

KREM · 2023

He admitted to secretly recording at least 15 conversations with officials and employees.
The county prosecutor told him to preserve all the recordings as evidence.

Coeur d'Alene Press · September 2022

He requested $260,000 to hire a private company to do property appraisals his own office could not complete because of vacancies he created.
Commissioners had already cut his salary in half for failing to meet deadlines; one called the request paying for "a Band-Aid for his job because he's not doing it."

Coeur d'Alene Press · April 2022

Coeur d'Alene Press · April 2022

More than 30 employees issued a formal vote of no confidence and called on him to end his campaign for re-election.
Staff cited inexperience, disinterest in the daily workings of the office, and alleged disrespect for employees.