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Commission approves claims after dissent over levy‑funded legal fees; CEO describes out‑of‑town pharmaceutical visit
Summary
Commission authorized payment of claims $148,960–149,038 (vote 3-1) after Commissioner Ed Beaudette objected to a $750 attorney fee charged to the law‑enforcement budget and questioned a bus rental claim; CEO Bill Everett described a last‑minute site visit by potential pharmaceutical investors and justified the bus expense.
The Anaconda‑Deer Lodge County Commission authorized payment of claims numbered 148,960 through 149,038 totaling $172,327.72, with Commissioner Ed Beaudette recording the lone dissent on legal‑fee concerns.
Beaudette objected specifically to claim 148,970 — $750 to the law firm Boone Karlberg — saying he had “no indication that our levy allows for the payment of management's legal fees out of our law enforcement levy” and asked County Attorney Morgan Smith to investigate whether the levy language permits that expenditure. Beaudette also questioned claim 149,035, a bus rental to Heather Edwards, because the expense lacked a stated purpose. The commission voted to pay the claims as a package, 3‑1, with Beaudette dissenting.
CEO Bill Everett told the commission the county’s certified public accountants direct how some administrative legal costs are allocated and said staff would follow up with the county’s accounting firm if the commission wanted more documentation. Everett also described a time‑sensitive visit by prospective pharmaceutical investors whom he said were connected through the governor's office. “We actually had some very affluent people fly in…Dr. Oz and RFK Jr.'s son,” Everett said, and described hiring a local bus to transport the party on short notice. Everett framed the rental as a practical response to organizing an unexpected group visit and expressed optimism about potential economic development but cautioned that any outcome remained uncertain.
County Attorney Morgan Smith confirmed she would review the levy language and noted Chief Sather had approved claims internally, an internal control point she said was relevant to the current approval. The commission did not remove the claim from the batch vote but recorded Beaudette’s request for a formal legal opinion before future similar payments.
The commission’s action completes the claims authorization for this agenda, and staff said they would return with any legal findings or additional documentation requested.
