Water board member resignation resolves case
LACLEDE - A Laclede Water District board member accused of corruption resigned his position on Wednesday and acknowledged that hiring his stepson as a facility operator was contrary to state law.
In exchange for Gerald "Jerry" Doyle's resignation and acknowledgment, the Bonner County Prosecutor's Office agreed to dismiss a misdemeanor criminal charge of using public funds for personal gain, according to a mediated agreement in his case.
Doyle was also required to read off the terms of the agreement during the board's business meeting on Wednesday. After doing so, Doyle cited his 12 years on the board and six years as the district's backup operator.
"I've saved the district a lot of money," Doyle said.
District watchdogs openly disputed that characterization, largely due to the wages plant operator Doug Carothers has collected, which they contend command more than half of the district's budget.
"That's just bunk. It's not accurate," district patron Greg Larratt said of Doyle's claim.
Larratt did an extensive analysis of Carothers' wages and those of other operators at other plants in Idaho and concluded that he is among the most handsomely compensated operators in the state.
The board dismissed the analysis more than a year ago, but new board members Chris Giese and Lee Dowdle indicated they would be willing to take it into consideration.
The agreement Doyle read aloud was the product of mediation between the state and Doyle's Sandpoint attorney, Fred Palmer. It heads off Doyle's trial in Bonner County Magistrate Court.
In addition to effecting Doyle's resignation and acknowledgment of impropriety in Carothers' hiring, the agreement forbids Doyle from discussing district business with his stepson or board members Lou Knapik and Harvey Hallenbeck after he transfers his duties as board member and treasurer.
After accepting Doyle's resignation, Dowdle, the board's chairman, pledged to bring accountability to the district and transparency to its business dealings.
"We must have accountability for all things that are going on," he said.