Dear Editor,
The Billings Gazette article dated 6/5/19 regarding the court clerk being prosecuted for taking money, got me thinking? Why have no charges been filed against the SBURA Board and their consultant, Steve Zeier? Certainly, the new protocol in town isn’t, if you get caught and pay it back no harm no foul. These board members need to personally pay the Moulton and Bellingham bill, not the taxpayers. The limited review verified that Steve Zeier of Zeier Consulting with the oversight of his employer, the SBURA board submitted false invoices for travel and wages that resulted in Mr. Zeier receiving $76,845.00 in wages he didn’t earn and $1509.87 for travel he didn’t take. Moulton and Bellingham gave an OPINION regarding intent. They possessed no subpoena powers, so anything the people interviewed said, might be the truth or maybe not. Moulton and Bellingham is neither judge nor jury. The SBURA board has an application process, elections, bylaws and are a nonprofit with the state. They are not some little volunteer group as council person Ronning refers to them. In fact, our city holds them in such high regard, they gave them approval to hire Zeier Consulting, using taxpayer dollars, paying him $153,690.00 working part time,32 hours a week, unlimited travel expenses and requiring no receipts. And apparently that wasn’t enough! This is taxpayer ABUSE at its finest. We the citizens have the absolute right to demand strict accountability of this board or any other board who uses taxpayer dollars. I have not heard anyone except Councilman Neese express dismay for the lack of consequences for this board and Zeier’s actions. I would tell the SBURA, “Stop the whining about how the press and private taxpaying citizens are picking on you and OWN IT! It’s your MESS!”
Lori Nelson
Billings
