First victory for liberty was back in 2012.
Margins were thin that year. People got home from work and heard a kind of good news. Maybe the County Budget and taxpayers were not going to get hit with unexpected payout of tens of thousands of County dollars to a Real Estate Developer (RED#1).
Because the Judge ruled that in 2011, Ravalli County Commissioners did not protect either its taxpayers, or its departments, when it held a surprise meeting and voted to hand $46,780.00 over to RED#1.
The Judge ruled that Ravalli County Commissioners violated the US Constitution and MT State Law requiring adequate scheduling, also notice, so that the public has time to discuss, especially to participate in upcoming Commissioner discussions about contracting and expending large amounts of money.
The Judge ruled that the Ravalli County Commissioners (RCC) must publish new guidelines to enable adequate scheduling and noticing to residents, of important financial matters leading up to substantial monies to be taken away from County funds.
If only RCC would have complied with the Order, and followed the Constitution. Instead of that, what happened was like: Same song. Second verse. Could be better. But got 14 times worse!
What follows are the facts as I have gathered them.
Meanwhile, two Real Estate Developers (RED#2) had filed suit against the County in 2008, claiming that the County-built road (2007) was deficient, and so lessened access and asset value of their two proximate developments, one mostly outside of the County. In 2011, both subdivision developments were approved. In 2013, the RCC denied seven, and accepted five, counts of damages and so voted to pay $300,000 to RED#2, with the last payment to be in 2017.
Meanwhile, in 2013 Real Estate Developer (RED#3) was seeking a larger amount of money from Ravalli County. Maybe near a million dollars, because of the same allegedly deficient road construction. However, the new road and culverts were adequate, according to the head of County Road and Bridge, who was soon wrongfully terminated. Very, very wrongfully terminated, according to many County residents.
When sentiments cooled RED#3 continued into 2014 to achieve a damage settlement from RCC. Maybe well before springtime of 2014, RED#3 and the County Commissioners looked at upcoming primary election on the third day of June, 6/3/14.
Guess what? Two of the five Commissioners will very probably get voted out of office! Primary Candidates might campaign against never getting to see a bill of damages, but getting stuck with a payout of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Primary candidates may rightfully insist that the public has the right to participate by examining relevant documents.
Property tax increases are a big concern in Ravalli County. Very probably RED#3 wanted to cut a deal before the primary election.
You might have thought a County Attorney would have darn well suggested that the County could get a better deal after the hotly contested upcoming primary. At best, pay the RED#3 only $1.00. At worst, maybe scratch a couple of claims off of the list of damages claimed by the RED#3. Maybe save $100,000. Maybe $200,000. Maybe save a third of a million dollars.
Huge questions remain: What if the RCC informed the public of the counts and the damages claimed by RED#3? What would the people of Ravalli County have to say about yet another six-figure payout, in large part because of one allegedly deficient road, mostly serving residents of Missoula County?
People would have said how many dollars for which alleged damages? How many people would attend discussions about another six-figure take away from County funds? Probably lots! Just like in the recent past, when there was public notice, lots of people got out and attended meetings and resisted Commissioner over reaching. Reaching into County money. Reaching out, around the law. Like knowingly violating public health, also the will and intentions of County residents.
Who knows and will talk about any Attorney-RCC discussions about following the Constitution of the USA, and the Order of the Judge to establish guidelines allowing for public participation? Who knows who insisted on secret-to-the-public discussions about how much money to pay off RED#3? How many people yet know who advanced the notion that an Opinion of the Attorney General of Montana required only a 48-hour advance notice? Who knows which, if any, attorney or RCC member stood up for the Constitution?
More importantly, perhaps some of the Commissioners became Kommissioners, convinced that they have authority to violate the Constitution!
Who knows what actually happened before attorneys for both sides sat down to evaluate the claims of RED#3, against dollar amount offers of Ravalli County Commissioners? Likely there were focused back and forth discussions about specific claims of damages. Likely a County Attorney played the role of arbiter, of how many dollars awarded for which specific claims of damages by RED#3.
Eventually the County Attorneys and the RED#3 attorneys brokered a signed, dated agreement to take $675,000 away from Ravalli County and pay it to the RED.
On Tuesday, 5/6/2014, the Commissioner Chairman received an already signed Agreement between the Ravalli County Commissioners, and the Real Estate Developer and scheduled a Commissioner vote for first thing on Monday morning, 5/12/14. Three weeks before 6/3/14 primary election.
If not scheduling enough time to allow public participation, how about at least providing adequate notice to the public?
Guess what? Friday afternoon at about 4:30 p.m., a Public Notice appeared at the website of Ravalli County.
And appeared at the stand-alone Announcements structure on the courthouse lawn.
And, after quitting time, media notices went out regarding the 5/12/14 vote to discuss then reject, modify, or accept, already signed litigation and Settlement.
Just like clockwork came the Monday morning vote requiring Ravalli County to pay the RED#3 the amount of $675,000. Mostly out of, and depleting, the General Fund. Rest to come in special property tax levy. All agreed to within a very secret process, designed to exclude public information, document access, discussion and modification. Designed to deprive taxpayers of liberty.
Just like newspapers were envisioned by drafters and signers of the US Constitution, one of the two local newspapers went to work on defending the local public.
And to make a long story short, on July 29, 2015, Judge Langton ruled and reminded everyone that our Constitution reads:
“The public has the right to expect governmental agencies to afford such reasonable opportunity for citizen participation . . . .”
Citing that, and the MT Constitution, and statutory law, and problems of the RCC-RED#3 contract, Judge Langton has ruled the 5/12/14 RCC vote to be in violation of law. What follows next, I have no idea. Just tried to write down the key details, of what I had gathered.
My concern is that the other local newspaper, and other Lee Newspapers in Montana have not mentioned, run, or viewed the second victory for the Constitution, here in Ravalli County.
In my opinion, the RED#1, RED#2, Wrongful Termination, RED#3 secret meeting story is only part of the story. The RCC refusal to follow law and order with RED#3 reminds me of the RCC refusal to study water table, wildfowl, school and traffic impacts of the largest ever subdivision approved by RCC. No wonder RCC approved the ill named Legacy Ranch Development for an illegal length of time!
Bob Williams
Stevensville