BOISE -- A closed door meeting has caused chaos for Ada County
commissioners.
Civil complaints have been filed against the commissioners, claiming the
manner in which the June 15th meeting was handled was wrong.
Boise City Council member Vern Bisterfeldt said he called a meeting with
the Ada County commissioners to talk about their struggling relationship.
"We convened the meeting and they went into executive session, and they
asked which way I wanted it and that it didn't make any difference to me
because we weren't going to be making any decisions," Bisterfeldt said.
The door was closed and according to Bisterfeldt, the conversation about
the city and county working more closely together went on.
Bisterfeldt says there was some discussion about planned communities,
but a decision was never made, nor was one ever intended to be made.
And he says shutting the door was something the county did, and he was
not a part of that decision.
"I asked for a meeting, how they conduct their meeting is up to them. If
I tell them how to conduct their meetings, they are going to show me the
door," Bisterfeldt said.
Ada County commissioners would not go on camera, but they did send a
statement to the media. It reads:
"We are diligent about following the rules of conduct for open meetings
and we want the pubic to be assured of this and be open about the
process."
According to Idaho law, it is not illegal to shut the door. However, two
complaints were filed and taken to the prosecutor's office.
The commissioners defend themselves by saying, "while we don't believe
any rules were violated we invite a special investigation and will abide
by the results of their finding.”
Ada county Prosecutor Greg Bower says his office has a conflict of
interest in this case, so he's sending the complaint to the attorney
general.
"They will handle it if it merits prosecution, they have been given a
letter of authority by me to act for me, since it's my responsibility
they are taking my responsibility, because of the conflict of interest
that I have," Bower said.
Now the attorney general is reviewing the case, to determine if the
civil complaint has merit.
The commissioners face a penalty of $150 if the complaint is found to be
valid.
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