In the ongoing and escalating debate over a petition being circulated to put the recall of Ketchum Mayor Randy Hall on the November ballot, the matter of a city-issued credit card has jumped to the fore.
In a full-page advertisement in Wednesday's Wood River Journal, as well as in a lengthy comment on the Idaho Mountain Express Web site, Ketchum resident and recall supporter Gary Hoffman questioned Hall's use of city funds.
Former City Administrator Ron LeBlanc introduced the credit cards in 2005, and a resolution by the City Council approved a policy for their use, restricted to "authorized purchases for official city business." The resolution notes that "abuse will be grounds for employee discipline and possible criminal prosecution."
"These cards were implemented through a transparent process and all expenses have to be approved by the council," Hall said. "It's a way for the city to pay its own way for everything from conferences to lunch meetings."
Included in the approved uses are travel-related purchases, such as airline and hotel reservations. As well, purchase of gasoline is permitted, but only when a rental car is involved.
But comments by Hoffman and a number of other recall proponents on the SunValleyOnline Web site clearly expressed suspicions that Hall has been using the credit card improperly.
In his Wednesday advertisement, Hoffman implied that it is difficult for citizens to obtain information on Hall's expenditures.
"(It) should be easy enough for Ketchum voters to get copies and look at the line items expended on official city business, right?" he stated.
Hoffman said he had not tried to acquire the documents. But Anne Corrock, the author of the recall petition and a former Planning and Zoning commissioner, had, but the expenditures were not easily decipherable.
An itemized billing statement for the account connected to Hall's credit card, provided by the city, showed the dates, amounts and locations of the purchases. The majority of charges are from Ketchum restaurants for meals with various city officials, consultants and members of the business community.
In all, the charges from Oct. 1, 2007, to the beginning of September 2008 total $3,099.
Included on the list are Jeanne Pincha-Tully, commander during the Castle Rock Fire, Sun Valley Co. General Manager Wally Huffman, 48 Straight CEO Troy Ballard, and new City Administrator Gary Marks and his family when they first arrived in town.
Some of the larger expenditures stem from Hall's attendance at an energy conference in Boise and half of the expense for a meeting between city officials and the Ketchum Community Development Corp.
The records also show an expense for Councilman Larry Helzel's attendance at a meeting of the Association of Idaho Cities.
"There are strict rules for the card and it's never been used on a personal level, such as to fill up my gas tank," Hall said. "The implications of impropriety seem a desperate measure."
The latter statement was also in reference to what Hall calls the "serious allegation" that he's taken bribes.
"When an IRS lien of over $90,000 'disappears' from the debit column of an official who makes a modest income ... how do we get the explanation for that?" Hoffman wrote.
Hall said that when he closed his restaurant, China Pepper, six or seven years ago, he was forced to sell off property to avoid declaring bankruptcy. While he paid off most of his debtors, Hall said that a large debt to the IRS still remains.
"It's not something I'm proud of and I'll be paying it off for some time," Hall said.
Though he did not say how much of the debt is outstanding, Hall was indignant at the inference that he would act unethically to ease the burden.
"All of this was fully vetted during my campaign and I've worked hard for the city since I was elected," Hall said.
Hall said he will be available to provide details on the matter at a "town meeting" on Wednesday, Sept. 17, at 6 p.m., at theWood River Community YMCA's resource room. The meeting is organized by Citizens for Successful Government, recently founded by attorney Miles Stanislaw in opposition to the recall effort.
Stanislaw said Hall will talk about promises he made when running for mayor, promises he kept as mayor and his vision for the future of Ketchum, as well as answer questions from the audience.
To get the recall on the November ballot, Corrock will need to collect the signatures of 418 registered Ketchum voters by Sept. 24. Though she doesn't have an exact tally—the petitions are being circulated by a dozen volunteers—Corrock estimated they had collected about 300 signatures by the end of August.
For the recall to be successful in November, there will need to be not only a majority in favor, but also at least as many votes in favor as were cast for Hall when he was elected in 2005. That means at least 503 votes for the recall will be needed.
State law does not specify any grounds needed for a recall.
Randy Hall
