Sheriff sues Kootenai County

COEUR d'ALENE - Sheriff Rocky Watson filed legal action against Kootenai County late last month demanding the entity fund his attorney's fees so he can sue the county over budgeting issues.

"I'm doing this as sheriff, in the interest of public safety," Watson said Friday. "Just like the county will be paying for the commissioners' attorney, it should be paying for the sheriff's."

Frustrated at how county department budgets have been slashed evenly during the recession, Watson says he wants to sue to determine if its legal for the county to fund unmandated services while mandated ones - like sheriff's department staff - go underfunded.

"I have talked to the commissioners, I've had many meetings with them about budget issues and mandated services versus unmandated needs, and I kept getting the deaf ear while public safety and required services were suffering," Watson said. "Do they have to care for mandated services first? Maybe they don't, but this is something that needs to be resolved in the courts."

The county prosecutor would not be allowed to represent Watson in a suit against the county due to conflict of interest, so the sheriff would have to hire his own legal representation.

When he requested funding for an attorney, the county denied it, he said.

Watson said he was able to use funding from county Prosecuting Attorney Barry McHugh's budget to contract a private attorney and file a writ of mandate against the county on July 23.

"There was just enough money in the budget for the county attorney to get it started," Watson said.

The writ states that the county is legally required to cover Watson's attorney's fees.

In the event that judgment is taken by default, the sheriff would be entitled to attorney's fees and costs of $15,000, the document reads.

Suing the county over budgeting is necessary, he said, because the funding situation is desperate for departments like his.

"Nothing within the department is adequate. We don't have adequate space, adequate personnel or adequate equipment," he said. "We have detectives working out of closets, we have storage stacked in hallways. The evidence room is overrunning."

He estimated that about $7 million in the proposed budget for next fiscal year is going toward unmandated services.

"You could do a whole bunch of other things with that if you wished," he said.

Commissioner Rick Currie said that it would be a waste of taxpayer dollars to help an elected official sue the county.

"It's an embarrassment for an elected official to do that," Currie said. "Especially considering that law enforcement gets a bulk of the taxpayer dollars, and the rest of our people, whether it's the Assessor's Office, District Court or the Coroner, are dedicated employees and deserve to be treated the same."

The commissioner pointed out that the proposed county budget for next fiscal year includes a $676,846 increase for the sheriff's department, which will bring its budget to $19,391,374.

"That's absolutely more than anybody else," he said.

He also pointed out that the county recently approved constructing a new space for county detectives in the county Criminal Justice Facility.

More than 90 percent of Kootenai County's services are mandated, Currie said.

Unmandated services the entity provides include veterans services, support for local senior centers and subsidizing the Coeur d'Alene Airport.

"That airport has a multi-million dollar impact on the local economy," Currie said. "Yes, we do have a small amount of unmandated services that we provide, but the public has either supported them or has said, 'We want you to do this.'"

The county is doing its best to budget in tough economic times, Currie added.

"There are a lot of people out there without jobs, and we do all have to be in this together," he said.