County denies detective commander’s appeal of airline seat charge; finance policy cited

The Flathead County Board of Commissioners on June 3 denied an appeal from Detective Commander Joshua Boles seeking to waive a $329 charge for a paid seat selection on a United Airlines flight to a law‑enforcement conference.

Finance staff said the county’s travel policy requires use of the least expensive transportation option and holds travelers responsible for upgrades or itinerary changes that they elect. Staff told the board the ticket purchased for the United flight included an “economy plus” seat for which Boles was charged; had he purchased the cheapest fare without a seat assignment the airline would have assigned a seat without the extra cost. Finance said similar scrutiny is applied evenly across departments when staff identify charges that fall outside policy.

Boles said he selected a less‑expensive airline itinerary rather than flying Delta (which he said would have allowed a complimentary seat selection) and paid to choose a seat to position himself near an aisle for improved reaction capability if an inflight incident occurred. He also cited past departmental practice where staff selected seats for trainings. He emphasized he was not flying armed and said his intent was to save the county money by choosing the cheaper itinerary.

Commissioners voted to deny the appeal, upholding finance’s determination that the traveler is responsible for elective seat charges and that policy exceptions should be requested in advance. The board discouraged cross‑departmental public disputes and urged staff and departments to route pre‑purchase exceptions through finance for pre‑approval.