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Residents press council over minutes and IP settlement transparency; council agrees to correct minutes
Summary
Public commenters alleged omission and tampering of minutes and demanded clarity about a multi-million-dollar IP settlement; the council agreed to review recordings and correct the minutes and said staff would meet with the commenter for details.
Several residents used public comment to press the City Council of Libby for greater transparency about meeting minutes and a longstanding IP settlement, alleging omissions in the official record and asking the council to describe what happened to settlement funds.
One resident who identified their address as 1117 Nevada Avenue said they had repeatedly asked to be placed on the agenda but that the request did not appear in the minutes. The commenter described the omission as “tampering with the public record” and asked the council to add an agenda action and correct the minutes to reflect their request. The council discussed precise language for the correction and agreed to review recordings to make the change; a motion to correct the minutes passed and staff were asked to listen to tapes and correct the minutes as needed.
Another resident raised concerns about an “IP settlement” the city reportedly received more than $4 million from in prior years. The commenter said the original contract was for 10 years and had expired, that negotiations had been discussed after the last meeting and that the mayor had treated details as attorney–client privileged. The speaker alleged the council had once voted unanimously to hire a preferred attorney but that the mayor later kept the attorney in place, and asked whether any portion of the settlement had been diverted (the commenter suggested $1.2–$1.5 million was outstanding or in question).
Mayor Williams responded that negotiations had been discussed after the last meeting and offered to meet with the commenter to provide an update; the mayor said the minutes were not yet current and asked the commenter to wait for the corrected record. The council did not resolve the financial questions at the meeting; the mayor and staff agreed to follow up with the commenter and to ensure the minutes reflect the substance of the matters discussed.
Separately, the council approved claims and business license applications during the same meeting and moved on to unfinished business; those routine approvals were recorded as carried by voice vote.
Next steps: staff will review audio recordings and correct the minutes to reflect the commenter’s request; the mayor offered to meet privately to update the resident on negotiations around the IP settlement.
