It is a favorite mantra of the right wing in Ravalli County to say that our previous Commissioners caused numerous lawsuits at significant cost to the County. If the following facts do not set you free, at least they should silence that lie.
Our previous Commissioners made decisions that resulted in three lawsuits: two subdivision denials and one concerning improvements to Eight Mile Creek Road. One (Sardot) resulted in a financial payout of $20,000 for which the County received a de facto easement for 40 acres of elk winter habitat. And, in a very complicated compromise, it also cost the County $175,000 in paving and engineering expenses. But this money came from subdivision mitigation funds earmarked for this purpose. The other two suits were settled without cost to the County.
Our previous Commissioners did inherit a number of lawsuits from the still earlier Republican BCC. Tom Robak filed a lawsuit because he did not like the floodplain regulations. That lawsuit was dismissed as frivolous and Robak was ordered to pay $116,000 to the County. Laura Hendrix, the Floodplain Administrator, sued because she felt harassed and threatened by a former Republican Commissioner. Garry Shook sued because he believed his project had been improperly denied. The Hendrix and Shook suits together cost the County $70,000 after insurance coverage. Dan Floyd sued on floodplain issues and settled for $30,000. Again, all these suits had their origins prior to the taking of office of the previous Commissioners.
It is the current Commissioners that are ruining our financial well being. Geoffrey Mahar’s demotion and threatened dismissal as political retaliation by the County Attorney will eventually cost the County somewhere between $225,000 and $275,000. No insurance coverage.
The Dave Ohnstad firing on trumped up charges by Commissioners Kannenwisher, Foss and Stoltz will dwarf all earlier County liabilities. This issue is still unfolding, but the dollar cost to Ravalli County taxpayers will be as much as $800,000. (What will a court’s reaction be if the rumors are true that the real cause of Ohnstad’s dismissal was because Commissioner Stoltz wants to be Road Supervisor? What will be your reaction?)
And if the Commission failed to notify MACo, our insurer, prior to the shameful firing of Ohnstad, we may not have insurance coverage. One wonders if MACo will continue to cover Ravalli County at all. And how many layoffs this will cost.
But there’s more. The lawsuit over gutting the Justice of the Peace offices has already been decided against the County and will eventually cost tens of thousands after appeal. There are several lawsuits concerning violations by the Commissioners of open meeting laws. The County is losing these at significant cost.
What is the common thread? Our current Commissioners act arrogantly, without prudence and on ideological grounds; they make decisions that are not fact based and are not in the best interests of the County. They are loose cannons. Their decisions are costing the citizens hundred of thousands of dollars.
No, the prior Commissioners did not engender lots of lawsuits and cost the County lots of money. That’s simply a bald faced lie. It is the current Commission that is doing that.
Richard Morrisey
Corvallis
Lulaine says
This seems like a fight that might fall into partisan lines however it does point out one thing that insurance is very important even for a county. The county is losing money because it doesn’t have insurance. When something preventable happens and it damages a person’s personal property, they have every right to sue even if it isn’t good financially for the county, justice must be served.