Clearwater County Leaders Scuffle As Probe Continues More Than $1 Million In Reimbursement Being Withheld By Federal Agency

While an 8-month-old federal investigation continues into alleged misuse of funds at the Clearwater County Flood Control Center, county officials are trying to scrape together enough money to maintain roads.

More than $1 million in potential reimbursement money is being withheld by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The delay has forced the county to shuffle its finances.

“We’ve put the road crew on a bare-bones budget,” County Commission Chairman Earl Pickett said.

Pickett said the county has not heard from the agency or any other federal officials regarding the status of the investigation.

U.S. Attorney Betty Richardson in Boise confirmed that the probe continues and reaffirmed an earlier promise to make a public announcement when the investigation concludes.

“Until that time, it would be inappropriate to comment,” she said. Pickett and Clearwater County Clerk-Auditor Robin Christensen also declined to comment on the investigation. But Christensen did say the county has received about $5 million from the agency.

The county sought agency reimbursement dollars after devastating floods in 1996 and 1997. After a federal emergency was declared by President Clinton, county officials worked quickly to repair road damage, thinking agency dollars would help pay bills.

They did until the investigation began last July. To pay local contractors and bills from the cleanup work, the commissioners secured a loan for $830,000 from U.S. Bank. When agency money stalled, the commissioners floated an override levy to help pay the loan off. But it failed by a 2-1 margin.

Then the county reallocated funds from various accounts and eventually paid the loan.

Luckily, Pickett said, this winter has been relatively mild and there have been no spring flooding problems.

Federal officials have said that an investigation like the probe into the Flood Control Center at Orofino often lasts a year or more. The accusations, according to documents, include falsification of documents.

Federal Emergency Management Agency agents staged a surprise raid on the flood control center in July and seized boxes of records. Several county employees also have been called to testify before a grand jury at Boise.