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Bonner County approves Priest Lake parade permit; county officials flag $7,900 invoice as likely fraud
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Summary
The Bonner County Board of Commissioners granted the Coolin Civic Organization permission to hold the Priest Lake Spring Festival and parade May 20–21 while advising the group that two emails and an invoice for $7,900 appear to be fraudulent and should be sent to county staff for verification.
The Bonner County Board of Commissioners on April 28 approved a request from the Coolin Civic Organization to hold its annual Priest Lake Spring Festival and parade May 20–21, but urged the group to verify a $7,900 invoice it received the night before that organizers said could force cancellation.
Jamie Yob, representing the Coolin Civic Organization, told the board the nonprofit — now in its 64th year of running the festival and parade — just received a nearly $8,000 bill and that the group may have to cancel if required to pay. “We just got a bill this morning for 7,900,” Yob said.
Chair (meeting lead) and county staff said the parade permit request before the board was limited to granting permission for the event; county staff offered to investigate the invoice after the meeting. County staff flagged details that suggested the invoice came from a nonofficial email address and warned residents the county would not ask anyone to wire money to pay a county invoice. “The county will never request someone to wire money to pay an invoice,” the Chair said, advising the organizers to forward the emails and invoices to county staff for written verification.
Jamie Yob said she had received two emails that morning from boccstaff.bonnercountyid@usa.com and that the invoice requested a wire transfer; staff noted the county’s official emails end in .gov and said the address in question is not an official Bonner County email. County staff offered to provide written confirmation that the invoice was not legitimate.
The board voted to approve the requested parade permit. Commissioners and staff also recommended that the civic group keep documentation of the emails and consult the sheriff’s office or county staff before taking any payments or sharing personal financial information.
The board’s action permits the Coolin Civic Organization to hold the parade in conjunction with the Priest Lake Spring Festival; the county noted the sheriff’s office and Road and Bridge had provided preliminary sign-offs. The county’s follow-up will include staff verification of the invoice’s origin and written confirmation to the organizers on whether any county fees are due.
Next steps: organizers agreed to send the invoice and related emails to county staff for verification; the board’s administrative staff will follow up after the meeting and the parade organizers may proceed with the event pending that confirmation.
