Letters to council question truck rental under Resolutions 5-43 and 5-44, allege inconsistent fees and possible ethics concerns

A citizen letter read during public comment questioned whether town resolutions were followed when a town employee used a town vehicle to haul gravel, and asked the council to seek legal clarification. At the Aug. 28 Stevensville Town Council meeting, a letter from Jim Cruz (read aloud by a council member) said the mayor reported charging $50 an hour for a truck rented to a town employee but that the town's written fees under Resolution 5-43 suggest higher rates for equipment and operators. The letter said the rental should have been charged at $150 per hour if the employee was acting as a private citizen and raised questions about whether appropriate insurance, release procedures and rental agreements were used. Why it matters: the letter said the apparent discrepancy could be an ethics violation or the unlawful gift of more than $50 and recommended obtaining a legal opinion and clearer written policies on use of town property. Details from the letter as read at the meeting: it quoted the resolution's fee schedule as read by the mayor, listing items including "town employee with backhoe, $150 an hour; truck, $50 an hour; town employee with dump truck, $150 an hour; town employee, $40 an hour; snow removal noncompliance, $50 per snow removal." The author of the letter said the mayor had altered one line when reading the resolution and that the rented vehicle was in fact a dump truck and therefore subject to a different charge under the resolutions. The letter asked the council to clarify: how the $50 figure was recorded on the claims as income; who released and returned the truck; whether permission was given for the employee to drive the truck off town property; who supplied insurance; and whether the town's resolutions authorize renting equipment to employees or citizens in the way that occurred. Council response: Mayor Michaelson replied during the meeting that he did not believe he had misled the public or council and said the intent of the resolutions is to allow the town to provide equipment and operating personnel as a service to citizens. The transcript does not show the council taking a formal vote or directing staff to seek an outside legal opinion during the Aug. 28 meeting. Background and next steps: the letter recommended that the council obtain written policies and procedures for use of town property and consider a legal review of how Resolutions 5-43 and 5-44 were applied in this case. The transcript does not record any formal referral or action on those recommendations at this meeting.