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Residents urge fiscal-impact notes for permits; prosecutor explains why an HR legal opinion was withheld
Summary
A Sagle resident urged that county permit applications carry fiscal notes from affected departments; a second public commenter said a requested legal opinion was withheld under attorney-client privilege and the county prosecutor explained the statutory exemption.
During the public-comment portion of the Jan. 13 meeting, Jim Pound of Sagle asked the board to consider an ordinance change requiring county departments to provide a fiscal note when a new permit or development application is filed so commissioners can see expected county costs up front. "The language on page 2 is basically the change has to do with receiving when a new application comes in and various departments report what their effects... include a fiscal note," Pound said, citing road and school impacts as examples.
Commissioners suggested the Planning Department place the proposal on a future planning update; the board offered the ordinary path of bringing an item through the planning commission for recommendation before returning to the board for final consideration.
Amy Lundsford asked why a public-records request (PRR) she filed for an HR legal opinion was declined as attorney-client privileged despite that the legal opinion’s effects had been discussed in public meetings. "I sent in a PRR asking for the legal document that HR director had received stating that a board could not be in charge of a county employee. That PRR was declined," Lundsford said.
Nate Adams of the Bonner County Prosecutor’s Office explained the public-records statute presumes disclosure but lists specific exceptions, including attorney-client communications. Adams said the specific question-and-answer that produced a legal opinion had not been publicly disclosed and the privilege had not been waived, so the county legally declined the PRR. "The statute on public records requests state that the default is that we will disclose all documents, and then it lists specific exceptions to the disclosure. And among those are attorney-client [communications], those emails that seek and then answer legal questions from the attorneys here in Bonner County," Adams said. He added that while effects of a legal opinion can be discussed openly, the underlying request and the attorney’s specific advice remain protected unless waived.
No executive session or further public-records action was taken at the meeting; the board closed the public-comment period and adjourned.
