Bonner County asks court to settle fire district dispute

SANDPOINT - Bonner County filed legal papers Wednesday asking a 1st District Court judge resolve a dispute over the appointment of two West Priest Lake Fire District commissioners.

The petition for declaratory judgment asks to court the determine if the two commissioners can complete their terms or if a special election should be conducted to fill the posts.

The appointments were called into question last fall and the office of Gov. Butch Otter briefly entered the fray by calling for new appointees to sit on the board. The call for appointees, however, was later rescinded and the Bonner County Prosecutor's Office ended up investigating the matter.

The investigation concluded that the county, under the recent consolidated elections law, failed to publish the required notices of election and candidate filing deadlines in 2013. The county also neglected to notify the district which subdistrict positions were up for election, according to the petition.

The petition states incumbents attempted to comply with the fire district election law, although they lacked the necessary information upon which to declare their candidacy.

"A determination whether these individuals, who are now holding-over into the succeeding term, are de-facto officers, for part or all of the succeeding term, is required," Deputy Prosecutor Scott Bauer said in the petition.