From the Twin Falls Times-News
BURLEY | A Cassia County judge has ordered two special prosecutors to be appointed in the case of a joint law enforcement committee over allegations it violated state open-government laws.
The law enforcement committee was a panel of citizens appointed by the city and county to study the police services contract after negotiations between the two government entities broke down. The committee also developed a cost model for the controversial contract between Burley and the county.
The Times-News called for the investigation after obtaining the committee members’ emails through a public records request. The newspaper found evidence the committee violated the state’s open records laws, which require public bodies to operate with transparency.
Cassia County District Judge Michael Crabtree signed an order Thursday morning appointing deputy attorneys general Steven Olsen and Carl Withroe to investigate open meeting law allegations brought by the Times-News.
The order was based on a request Cassia County Prosecutor Doug Abenroth made asking that special prosecutors be appointed because of a conflict of interest.
Emails obtained by the newspaper show the committee colluded to keep information from the public if media was present at the committee meetings.
Committee chairman Bill Parsons said he was trying to keep the report out of the hands of Jay Lenkersdorfer, co-owner of the Weekly Mailer and a candidate for Burley City Council. His email continued: “Linkensdorf (referring to Lenkersdorfer) is moving around and I do not want him to have any information until we present to both bodies. We will not turn on computer until we see who is there.”
Emails received in the public records request showed a pattern of similar behavior by Parsons.
The emails also revealed that the committee may have held an illegal meeting in February at Parsons’ office, which was never publicized.
At least one member of the committee, Robert Squire, questioned whether the group was violating the law.
The Times-News filed records requests with each committee member on Oct. 24 after Parsons accidentally sent the email advising committee members to lie about their progress on the contract if the media showed up. In a Times-News story about the incident, Parsons took responsibility for sending the email but fell short of apologizing.
The paper reviewed hundreds of pages of emails, which included typical items like plans on what the committee would have for lunch and who would present information to the committee. But the review also turned up emails detailing how information would be withheld from the public if media were present.
“While we applaud the work of the committee, we’ve reviewed the group’s emails and found evidence it broke the law,” said Times-News Editor Matt Christensen. “It was our obligation to share that evidence with prosecutors, and we’re confident an investigation will serve as a warning to other governments that public business must always be done in the open.”
On Nov. 18, Times-News attorney Benjamin Cluff formally asked Abenroth to investigate and alerted the Attorney General’s Office. The letter asked Abenroth to seek the appointment of a special prosecutor because he serves as the county’s attorney and the joint committee was formed by the county and the city.
“I am currently seeking the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the Times-News’ allegations that the joint law enforcement committee violated Idaho’s open meeting laws,” Abenroth said in a prepared statement in December. “After receiving the Times-News’ letter, I requested the Idaho Attorney General to agree to the appointment as special prosecutor, but the Attorney General’s office declined the appointment.”
Thursday, Abenroth said emailed the Times-News saying the Attorney General’s office reversed their initial decision declining the request.
No hearings have been set in the case.
From the Twin Falls Times-News