by Evelyn Pyburn
The issue of paying an attorney who was not engaged by the board at a public meeting was again a primary topic of concern at the monthly meeting of the Heights County Water Board last Wednesday.
Even though the topic was a dominant subject of conversation in last month’s board meeting, Board Member Tom Zurbuchen expressed surprise to find there was no mention of the topic in the minutes that were presented for approval this month. “They are short the one thing that made the headline of the Yellowstone County News!” he declared. He refused to approve the minutes until they were corrected.
Zurbuchen pointed out that at their last meeting he made a motion to separate out the invoice from attorney Susan Swimley because she was not hired by the board. He said that there was “a lot of discussion about it” – none of which appears in the minutes. And, just as concerning he said, the board did not vote on the issue at the last meeting because it was not on the agenda, so it was supposed to be on the agenda this month – but it’s not on the agenda. He also questioned missing December invoices in this month’s consent agenda, which included that from Swimley, and he wanted to see them.
Zurbuchen opposed the district paying Bozeman attorney Susan Swimley’s invoices because she was not hired by the board at a posted, public meeting. Swimley was hired solely upon the action of board president, Ming Cabrera, to initiate a lawsuit against the county. The responsibility to pay the invoices, contends Zurbuchen, is that of Cabrera and perhaps, general manager Peyton Brookshire who Cabrera said assisted in hiring her.
Zurbuchen went on to explain that while there was a resolution passed in 2004 giving the general manager the authority to sign documents upon which the board had already approved action — “I don’t have a problem on that,” he said. But, he continued, that is different than allowing the general manager to sign documents that could “encumber ratepayers for an unknown amount of money… That is not day-to-day operations.”
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