Transparency required on joint irrigation board

It is important for the three districts belonging to the Flathead Joint Board of Control to continue to work together, but there is a lot of frustration among irrigators in all three districts because of the way the FJBC has worked since reconstituted in 2014. Based on my experience as a Flathead Irrigation District commissioner on the FJBC from May 2015 until I resigned on February 22, 2017, I share that frustration.

When faced with important issues for decision, my fellow Flathead Irrigation District commissioner Paul Guenzler and I often were excluded from internal email communications.

The most recent example occurred in January when the FJBC decided, without any advance decision notice on the agenda, to provide an unprecedented three year employee contract that included a significant salary increase. The contract previously had been circulated to all commissioners except Guenzler and myself. Commissioners Lake and Rosman, who finally were able to take their seats on the FJBC at the January meeting, also did not receive a copy of the contract.

Although Lake and Rosman won their elections last May by significant margins, the FJBC did not allow them to be seated until ordered by Judge Manley. During Judge Manley’s hearing, the FJBC witness stated that she had kept commissioners informed of all communications with the county elections office. I nearly choked because once again, Commissioner Guenzler and I had not been included in the distribution of relevant election background.

Last year when Guenzler and I exposed large scale misreporting of FJBC payments for legal services, we were immediately threatened with a lawsuit and ended up being verbally attacked by other commissioners who should have known what was going on.

These and other FJBC actions aimed at excluding elected FID commissioners from important decisions help explain growing sentiment in all three districts for disbanding the FJBC. The FJBC needs to operate in the open and not in the dark shadows.

– Dick Erb, Moiese