Park County holds oversight hearing after trustees accused of acting outside authority

Park County commissioners held an oversight hearing on March 5, 2026, into allegations that members of the Park County Rural Fire District No. 1 board of trustees acted outside their authority, disrupted operations and morale, and may have signed official documents while not legally seated.

Assistant Chief Kim Ngo, acting chief of Park County Rural Fire District No. 1, told the commission she filed a complaint with the county attorney after witnessing what she described as two trustees “rehearsing their motions” and discussing how they would vote on February 9. Ngo said the trustees asked an administrative assistant to access a county computer to print chief applications and that refusal led to a heated exchange.

"I am the person who filed the complaint," Ngo said, describing repeated instances over the last 6–9 months in which trustees, she said, overstepped into operations, chain of command and finances. She told commissioners one trustee had been acting as chair and signing checks between May 2024 and May 2025 despite county records showing that person was not properly appointed during that period.

Dan, the department’s outgoing chief who addressed the commission during public comment, provided a timeline asserting that leadership and payroll actions taken from May 2024 through May 2025 were problematic because the trustee in question did not have paperwork on file that year. He and others said some decisions and agenda-setting appeared to have been coordinated by two trustees outside of public meetings, which staff called a potential "walking meeting." The former chief urged transparency and adherence to procedure in future hiring and procurement matters.

Jordan Qualley, a lieutenant paramedic and the district’s administrative assistant (through contract firm 406 Paradise Accounting), read a written statement recounting February 9 and saying she declined to print confidential chief candidate materials from her county computer. Qualley said trustees discussed which applicants to advance and how they would vote, then sought access to her computer to print materials; she described that as outside her duties and as a confidentiality concern. Vicki Joe Shipley, the contract accountant for the district, confirmed Qualley’s role and said Jordan is not to be asked by trustees to perform tasks that expose personnel records.

Former trustee Lisa Lowry, who served as chair from June 2025 to January 2026, said she sought legal counsel from attorney Kate Dinwiddie (Bozeman) who advised that a trustee not on the board should not hold officer roles and that the board had publicly ratified checks and documents after Lowry became chair to cure any issues.

Ken Gray of Whistler Towing submitted a written statement saying his business provided discounted services to the district and that board discussion later targeted his company after a separate private legal dispute. Andrew Mitchell, a department member of 11 years and deputy county fire warden, told commissioners the department remains "response ready" and that operational training is continuing despite morale concerns tied to the board.

Commissioners thanked witnesses and described a path forward: follow county attorney guidance, require government-board training for trustees, improve public notice and transparency, and provide closer supervision of the board’s public meetings. The commission did not take formal enforcement action at the hearing; commissioners said the oversight hearing clarified problems and recommended training and procedural fixes.

The commission closed the hearing without voting on sanctions or removals, and commissioners moved to place enhanced training and public-notice practices on future agendas as the next procedural steps.