County makes second major payoff in month

A former Kootenai County sheriff’s captain received a $267,400 settlement Thursday, the second major payoff made to a county employee in the last month.

Capt. Sam Grubbs, who voluntarily resigned in February, received two separate checks from the county’s insurer for a claim having to do with an employment mistake. No further details were provided by the insurer, Idaho Counties Risk Management Program. The settlement, which was funded from a pool of taxpayer money, paid Grubbs $190,490 April 15 and then cut him another check Thursday to buy a $76,897 annuity. Grubbs will get the single annuity payment in January.

Grubbs wasn’t available for comment.

The Kootenai County Commission wouldn’t comment other than to say that the board knew a settlement had been made and that Grubbs ended his employment with the county April 15.

Grubbs had been working since February as the interim director for Justice Services, which includes the juvenile detention center and juvenile probation and diversion in addition to adult misdemeanor probation.

The hire was a key element of a February settlement with Grubbs, which was called into question recently when the County Commission learned it overstepped its authority by offering Grubbs the justice services job.

The position is shared between the district court and the county. State law requires the district court to be involved in the hiring process, which never happened.

That’s what triggered this new settlement agreement that includes the quarter-million dollar payment. Last week Commission Chairman Gus Johnson said Grubbs would continue to work for Justice Services, earning a $67,200 salary, until a new settlement was reached. He added that this time Grubbs wouldn’t be promised the Justice Services position.

Sheirff Rocky Watson said he wasn’t involved in the new settlement and that it had nothing to do with the Sheriff’s Department or the reason Grubbs was suspended with pay pending an Idaho State Police investigation.

In the February settlement, the sheriff agreed to call off the ISP investigation if Grubbs voluntarily resigned. In exchange, the commission would hire Grubbs to take over Justice Services. The county’s insurer would then reimburse the county for Grubbs’ salary. The settlement also cleans Grubbs’ personal record and seals the file on his suspension.

Commissioner Rick Currie wouldn’t say whether the insurer will still reimburse the county for the two months Grubbs worked for Justice Services.

Since March, the county’s insurer has paid $336,550 to two Kootenai County employees. Marina Kalani, the administrator of the county’s failed juvenile drug court, received a $69,150 settlement March 23 for a claim also having to do with employment mistakes. The reason for her settlement also hasn’t been disclosed.

Commissioner Rick Currie reiterated that the county was not involved with negotiations for either claim but the board has been assured the settlement payments won’t affect the county’s insurance premium to “any great extent.”

Currie said the county has an “exceptionally good track record” when it comes to settlement claims and that these payments are rare.

The county’s contract with its insurer prohibits the commission from knowing the details of the claims, Currie said, adding that it puts the commission in a frustrating situation.

“We get pinned,” Currie said. “I wish I could comment on that. God I wish.”

The county’s own legal staff wasn’t involved in either claim. County Attorney Erika Ellingsen voluntarily removed herself and her staff from both cases because she was engaged to Grubbs at the time and is deputized by Prosecutor Bill Douglas. Douglas was Kalani’s direct supervisor.

The commission got all its legal advice from attorneys provided by its insurer.

Johnson said last week that Ellingsen had no involvement in the county’s decision to hire Grubbs for the Justice Services position or any potential settlement.

Grubbs is free to apply for the Justice Services job once the position is advertised, Currie said. Director Allan Friesen is scheduled to retire in November.

It’s unclear what Grubbs’ duties were during the two months he worked for Justice Services. Johnson said in previous interviews that the county was trying to find things for Grubbs to do.

A woman who answered the Justice Services phone in early April said Grubbs had showed up for only one week and that she didn’t think he worked for the department.