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Independent audit sought after legal costs underreported

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Editor,

In my letter to the Valley Journal published February 24, 2016, I stated that I opposed the FJBC 2016 budget adopted in February because I thought that it understated “the potential legal costs given the FJBC’s three ambitious legal initiatives.” My view was criticized in later letters, but only six months later, events have proven me right.

Legal bills associated with litigation at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) totaled $265,876 from January 1 to mid-August. That amount is more than two times the $120,000 budgeted for the entire year.

Given that total FJBC payments to the law firm from January to mid-August totaled only $148,670, past due payments in mid-August amounted to $117,206.

The FJBC now faces the challenge of how to pay legal arrears accumulated through mid-August and also any FERC related legal services after the period covered by the last bill on August 1.

On a related matter of great concern, legal costs through August cited above came as a surprise because there was serious underreporting of relevant budget information during the first half of the year. According to the FJBC’s June budget statement, payments to the law firm from January through June totaled $64,722. But the FJBC June budget statement failed to report that an additional $53,946 was directly paid by each of the three districts that constitute the FJBC without formal approval in public district board meetings. Thus total payments to the law firm amounted to $118,670 through June.

The June budget statement also failed to report that because FJBC payments through June still were less than total billed, past due payments in June amounted to $60,727.

Because of the serious underreporting of FERC related legal costs and arrears through the first half of the year and because the payments made by the three districts were of questionable legality, fellow commissioner Paul Guenzler and I have asked for an independent audit.

Dick Erb
Moiese

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