Public Works director responds to allegations of procedural violations

WALLACE — Shoshone County Public Works Director Jessica Stutzke went before county commissioners earlier this week to address claims of code violations against her department.

The claims, made by resident Matt Beehner, came during a consent agenda meeting July 24. Beehner alleged that the county had violated Idaho Code as it pertains to procurement procedure, as well as amending the public works and ambulance district budget without public hearings. 

He also alluded to auditor Tony Matson missing things when he reviewed the county’s financial statements.  

According to Beehner, the county did not seek formal or informal bids for several projects and larger purchases, specifically, new generators at the county shops and sanding trucks. He later brought up how the county purchases fuel and how he believed that was also a violation.  

The county adopted its procurement procedures in June 2021.  

“We haven’t had a lot of turnover in the elected officials since this had been passed,” Beehner said. “For department heads to claim they didn’t know, either they didn’t read it — which is incompetent — or they didn’t care.”  

Stutzke wasn’t at the meeting where the allegations were made, which prompted her to schedule the meeting with the commissioners to “educate the public on the official record.”  

After reading the allegations to the board, she broke down how she believes the claims are incorrect.  

Shoshone County’s procurement procedures differ from the Idaho Association of Counties, which outlines that purchases of less than $75,000 do not require counties to seek formal or informal bids. Shoshone County set its threshold at $50,000.  

According to Stutzke, the generator project was split up so the county could use ARPA funds to purchase the four generators for $40,585. The county handled some of the work to install the generators but did have to contract an electrician to hook them up. The final tally for purchasing and installing the generators was about $85,000. 

The sanding trucks have not been purchased, but the county did receive quotes for two different sizes of trucks.  

Stutzke said Beehner’s statements were misleading and these kinds of comments can be divisive and lead to legal issues, loss of trust and cause damage to the elected officials’ integrity.  

“There’s some pretty heavy violations that come with not following procurement procedures,” Stutzke said. “Those can be anything from a reprimand, termination, all the way up to fines up to $5,000 per offense. I don’t think any of the elected officials or department heads in the county take that lightly."

Beehner, who attended Stutzke’s meeting, remained steadfast in his claims, stating that bids cannot be broken up in the fashion used for the generator project. It was at this point that he brought up the county’s fuel purchasing practices, which cost well over $50,000 annually.  

According to Stutzke, the county’s legal team determined that because they do not purchase fuel in a single lump amount, they do not have to bid out their fuel purchases to stay within code.  

Commissioner Tracy Casady said she believes the county is following its procurement procedures and anything that could constitute a gray area is reviewed by the county’s legal department.  

She also said this interaction highlights a larger issue for Shoshone County — using public comment periods to address issues that aren’t on the board’s agenda.  

“I think we need to address how we handle our public comment periods," Casady said. "The comments need to pertain to things that we are discussing, and we need to structure our meetings so that we remain on topic. If you have something that’s not on the agenda, schedule a meeting with us, so we can get it on the agenda and let all of the proper department heads or elected officials know ahead of time.”  

Beehner told the board he would provide them with the information on which he based his claims.