Code On Conflicts Of Interest Handcuffs Small-Town Officials Strict Idaho Law Narrows Options For Local Governments

Nancy Taylor dropped each word like a rock:

“I don’t have any problem following the rules. But it’s not going to be done selectively.”

The city councilwoman’s voice trembled. She’d held it in for weeks.

Taylor admonished Mayor Ron McIntyre and Councilmen Chris Beck and Frank Martin this week for conflicts of interest. The city buys supplies at the mayor’s store, and Beck and Martin have done business for Hayden.

It’s unfair, Taylor said, that her son can’t work as a city lifeguard when other officials have conflicts.

Not just other officials in Hayden, but in other cities, too. Such conflicts are inevitable, especially in small towns where elected officials are the only people who perform certain services, or their relatives are best qualified for a public job.

When the Association of Idaho Cities meets in Coeur d’Alene later this month, conflicts of interest will be a major discussion point.

Jerry Mason, a Post Falls city attorney who does some work for the association, said the concern isn’t so much that public officials are violating Idaho code. It’s that the code is too strict for small towns to follow.

“If you’re looking for corruption, you’re not going to find it,” Mason said. “Public service seems to run in families. … It’s not anything anybody gets wealthy from.”

Taylor’s situation is clear. Idaho code 18-1359 strictly forbids hiring employees if they have kin on a council or in the mayor’s seat. If the relative was hired before the public official was elected, however, it’s all right.

Code violations aren’t uncommon.

When county Commissioner Dick Panabaker was Hayden’s mayor, for example, his daughter worked for the city. He was elected mayor in 1988 and served until 1994. Michelle Kramer filled in for a secretary who was being treated for cancer off and on from 1992 to 1994.

“At that time, we had very few people working there,” Panabaker said. “When somebody was gone, it left a big hole that needed to be filled.”

Bob Croffoot, the Hayden city administrator, said he couldn’t remember what exception might have been made in that case.

In Coeur d’Alene, Councilman Ron Edinger’s daughter works for the city Parks Department. Paula Austin was hired 10 years ago, long after her father began a 30-year stint as a councilman and mayor.

When asked about the conflict, Austin put a reporter on hold, never returned to the telephone, and then didn’t answer subsequent calls.

Edinger could be off the hook in this case, however. It’s unclear what the nepotism laws were before 1990, when the current statute was enacted.

“When (Austin) was hired, I had nothing to do with that,” Edinger said. “I didn’t even know she applied. The fellow in charge of parks and rec at the time didn’t know she was my daughter.”

City Attorney Jeff Jones wouldn’t comment on Edinger’s situation, claiming it would violate attorney-client privilege. Furthermore, Jones said he only investigates conflicts at public officials’ request. Sometimes officials ask whether they can vote on an issue without violating the law.

Matt McKeowan, a deputy state attorney general, gets two or three calls a month from public officials checking on themselves, as well as calls from concerned citizens.

Often, McKeowan has to explain the difference between bias - having an opinion - and having a conflict. Taking sides on an issue doesn’t necessarily mean there’s something in it for a public official.

With nepotism, there are few exceptions to the law. But laws on other conflicts don’t draw such a clear line.

For example, Idaho code 18-1359 forbids public servants from using public funds or property to benefit themselves, unless the government entity authorizes it.

In Hayden, any conflicts for McIntyre, Beck and Martin were resolved with a mayor’s decree last week. But there are officials from nearly every North Idaho city who have been questioned about this law.

Edinger drives limousines for Hagadone Hospitality Co.

In 1987, Duane Hagadone requested a zoning change for The Coeur d’Alene Resort property. The then-mayor and four of the city’s council members were accused of having conflicts of interest on the proposal. At the time, Edinger, another council member and the city administrator declared that they had conflicts.

Now, Edinger said, he sees no problem with voting on Hagadone issues. He checks with the city attorney or with his private attorney if he’s concerned about a conflict. He said he doesn’t remember the 1989 decision.

“They don’t get any special favors from me,” Edinger said.

Councilman Dave Walker runs a travel agency in Coeur d’Alene. Before he was elected last year, the city had an account with the agency.

When Walker took office, he let go of that account, though he said city staffers occasionally will mistakenly buy a ticket with city money from the agency.

“I figure my commitment to the city is a little more important than worrying about if I’m going to sell X number of tickets to the city during the course of my tenure,” Walker said.

In Post Falls, Jim Watson raised issues about a planning and zoning commission’s decision last month on his proposal to rezone 73 acres near the outlet mall.

Watson, a Seal Beach, Calif., developer, said two of the commission members had conflicts because they worked for Realtors.

“For anybody who doesn’t seem to get their way to cry foul is an easy way out,” said Ron Jacobsen, a Post Falls city councilman. “In most cases, it’s a cheap shot.”

Spirit Lake Mayor William Moe is facing a recall effort, in part because people are incensed that he expanded the Police Department. Moe, a former officer, was playing favorites, critics said.

Moe said he’s added personnel to crack down on Spirit Lake’s drug problem.

Mason thinks something’s got to give.

“It’s getting more and more difficult to find people willing to serve on city councils, as mayors and county commissioners,” he said. “If I had any say, there would just be full disclosure, then allow the person to have the conflict but step aside” from certain decisions.

McIntyre thinks the laws in place work just fine.

“I have a large family,” Hayden’s mayor said. “We’ve got kids that drive dump trucks, graders. We could probably run the whole city if we wanted to.”

Winston Ross can be reached at (208) 765-7132 or by e-mail at winstonr@spokesman.com.

This sidebar appeared with the story: BACKGROUND State laws

Three state laws deal with conflict of interest:

In the criminal code, under the Bribery and Corrupt Influence Act. This section deals with using a position for personal benefit, nepotism and receiving improper gifts. Possible penalties include a year of jail time and fines of up to $1,000.

Title 59, crimes punishable as a misdemeanor. This section deals with contracts involving public officials. Violations can be punishable by a $1,000 fine.

Ethics in Government Act. This is a noncriminal statute, allowing civil penalties if a public official does not avoid a conflict once it’s discovered. This means a member of the public could sue for damages.

SOURCE: Idaho Attorney General’s Office services, or their relatives are best qualified for a public job.