Sheridan County clerk's request to hire special counsel over MOU tabled after board debate

Sheridan County Clerk Eda Schunk Thompson asked the Board of County Commissioners on May 5 to appoint special counsel to advise her office on a dispute over a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed Feb. 20, 2024. Thompson told the board the MOU "has failed" because the board and clerk interpret the agreement and duties differently and asked that the MOU be terminated and payroll and accounts-payable duties be transferred to the Clerk's office.

Chairwoman Christi Haswell cautioned about the potential cost and questioned whether reopening the MOU with outside counsel would be productive; she suggested the finance committee or another group could review the issue first. Commissioner Holly Jennings raised concerns about a potential conflict of interest involving the proposed special counsel and moved to table the resolution for one month to pursue reconciliation efforts. The motion to table passed 4–1 (Commissioners Arzy, Haswell, Siddle and Jennings in favor; Commissioner Wright opposed), postponing the appointment of Timothy M. Stubson of Crowley Fleck as special counsel.

Clerk Thompson and deputy county attorney Clint Beaver both discussed legal limits: Beaver said he could not advise on the MOU in that moment because the document was not before him. The clerk said she had not been told by prior counsel that the MOU would expire in November, a point Chairwoman Haswell raised during discussion. The board took no formal action to change duties; it opted to delay the special-counsel appointment while allowing time for further review and potential reconciliation.