Allegations against Hall spark fiery debate
As council voices concerns, city maintains push for criminal charges
By GREGORY FOLEY
Express Staff Writer
Ketchum Mayor Ed Simon and City Attorney Ben Worst this week declined to rescind a request that City Council President Randy Hall be prosecuted for a series of alleged conflict-of-interest violations, sparking a fiery debate over how the matter is being handled.
Pursuit of the allegations, it appears, is starting to fracture relationships at City Hall and hinder the ability of city officials to effectively focus on managing day-to-day affairs.
The allegations were brought forth Sept. 3 by Worst, when he asked Blaine County Prosecutor Jim Thomas to seek prosecution of Hall for multiple ?conflict-of-interest? violations resulting from Hall holding two positions with the city, a council seat and a paid, part-time, on-call job with the Fire Department.
In two impromptu discussions about the matter Monday, Oct. 4, Ketchum City Council members engaged in a heated discourse with Worst, questioning the city attorney for his insistence that the case not be directly negotiated with Hall or his attorney, Ned Williamson.
Williamson sparked the discussions at the onset of what was an otherwise calm City Council meeting, when he formally asked Worst to withdraw his request that Thomas pursue the charges against Hall.
In doing so, Williamson objected that the mayor and the City Council have discussed the matter ?in a couple of executive sessions? while excluding Hall.
?I think the time to act is now,? Williamson said. ?I think this has been going on too long in the public eye.?
Simon quickly stopped Williamson.
?I don?t think this is the time or the place,? Simon said.
Worst agreed, stating that he thought it was ?inappropriate? to discuss the matter with Hall?s attorney.
Soon, Hall?s council colleagues chimed in, stating that they wanted to negotiate the charges by Worst and bring the issue to a close.
?I feel like all I?m getting is one side of the story,? complained Councilman Baird Gourlay.
?I don?t want to go through this anymore,? Councilwoman Christina Potters added.
Finally, council members tentatively agreed to discuss Hall?s case with Williamson in a closed, executive session after the meeting.
Hours later, when Williamson returned to convene with the council, Worst strongly advised council members not to meet with Hall or his attorney.
?I?m advising you, do not do that,? he admonished.
Worst said the details of the case had been forwarded to Dave Sasser, general counsel for the Boise-based Idaho Counties Risk Management Program. Sasser, he said, had stated that the case might be subject to litigation and should not be negotiated.
Gourlay restated his desire to negotiate. Worst again objected.
?You need to get your legal advice from me, not from Mr. Williamson,? Worst said.
Immediately, Hall interjected.
?If we had been able to get our side of the story out, we might not be sitting here right now,? he said.
Then, Simon countered Hall.
?We tried to do this without embarrassing anyone.?
After Councilwoman Terry Tracy said she ?can?t drag this out any longer and feel like I?m being a productive member of the City Council,? Worst again advised that any executive session exclude Williamson.
An executive session to discuss ?personnel? was then called as Hall and Williamson?as well as the press?departed the council?s chambers.
On Tuesday, a wall of silence that has surrounded the allegations in weeks past was again erected.
Worst did not return calls requesting that he discuss the situation. ICRMP attorney Sasser said he is looking at a pile of documents to determine if the organization?which acts as an insurance agent and occasional legal representative for the city?has any ?legal interest? in the Hall case.
Williamson on Tuesday said he is hopeful that council members will meet with him to discuss ?alternatives? for settling the matter.
?I think it?s fairly obvious,? he said. ?The council rightfully wants to hear what Randy?s side is.?
He added: ?The council has to make a decision. ?Do we want to litigate or do we want to talk.??
Williamson said he is confident that Hall won?t be prosecuted, but nonetheless objected to Worst?s handling of the matter.
?The city has now outsourced this dispute to three different entities,? he said.
Indeed, the city in early August sought an opinion from the attorney general?s office about whether Hall might have violated any state conflict-of-interest laws. Later, the matter was brought to the Blaine County prosecutor. And now, it is also in the hands of ICRMP.
And, as Thomas continues to review the case in advance of a decision on whether he will seek charges, it appears that an Aug. 5 opinion rendered by Deputy Attorney General Brian Kane?which was the likely catalyst to the allegations?might not directly apply to Hall?s current situation.
Kane?s opinion states that ?as a paid fire department employee, and a member of the city council, it appears that (Hall) may be in violation of Idaho Code.?
However, his Aug. 5 letter to Worst implies that a conflict of interest might not exist if Hall did not accept a full-time Fire Department job he had been offered by Simon in July.
?This situation may be ameliorated if the individual resigns from one of his positions and/or does not accept full-time employment as a paramedic,? the Kane letter states.
Hall did ultimately decline the full-time job before an Aug. 6 response deadline set by the city.
Meanwhile, although it appears the Hall case could ultimately set a legal precedent for elected officials across Idaho, the AG?s office last week declined to discuss what a decision against Hall might actually mean.
Kriss Bivens, information specialist for the AG, said Worst should be the one to interpret the meaning of the opinion he requested, not the author Kane.
Sasser, from ICRMP, said Tuesday that a court ruling against Hall would almost certainly have legal implications for other elected officials in Idaho.
However, ICRMP has been involved in similar cases in the past, he said, and typically they are settled out of court.
