Ravalli County Treasurer…… Whistleblower?
January 29, 2014 Leave a comment
HAMILTON – The Montana Department of Revenue says it will charge Ravalli County more than $37,000 in interest if it doesn’t send in delinquent property tax filings soon.
The Corvallis School District has filed a formal complaint with the county commission after the treasurer’s office failed to deliver monthly reports.
An attorney for a temporary employee of the treasurer’s office threatened the county with a whistleblower lawsuit.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is considering investigating the mess.
And the people charged with attempting to begin the process of reconciling the embattled county treasurer’s books will deposit more than $800,000 in property tax checks that date back to November and December.
The challenges of restoring order to the Ravalli County treasurer’s office are not going away anytime soon.
That decision followed months of complaints about overdue disbursements and reports from county schools, fire departments, towns and others that followed Stamey’s appointment last September.
Stamey responded with allegations of corruption by numerous current and former Ravalli County employees, which she continued during an hour-and-a-half presentation to the South Valley Pachyderm Club one day after she was locked out of her office.
Last week, the commission put Clerk and Recorder Regina Plettenberg and treasurer’s deputy Dan Whitesitt temporarily in charge of daily operations of the treasurer’s office.
On Tuesday, the pair provided the commission with a report on their progress so far.
Initially, Plettenburg told the commission, the plan is to focus on keeping up with the daily work in order to not fall further behind.
On top of that, she said, the office continues to receive phone calls from taxpayers concerned that their property tax checks paid in November and December have yet to be cashed.
They are working to get that issue resolved.
Whitesitt said checks totaling $801,889 were collected from various locations in the office and are now in the process of being posted in the county’s accounting system and deposited.
The two are also working with a Montana Department of Administration field accountant to develop a plan on bringing the office up to date, Plettenberg said.
“We’re taking the approach that the past is the past,” Plettenberg said. “We’re not trying to figure out why we’re here. We are just trying to move forward.”
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Ravalli County Commission chair Greg Chilcott said the commission has contacted a couple of retired treasurers from outside the area who may be available to help get the office caught up.
“They have pretty impressive references and resumes,” he said.
At this point, Chilcott said it’s unclear just how much time it will take to get the county’s books current.
The commission plans to discuss interim management of the office Thursday, as well as consider state statutes that could impact its future dealings with Stamey.
“We will make any determinations and decisions based on evidence and facts, not allegations,” Chilcott said.
Commissioner J.R. Iman urged the board to consider creating a special line item that will track the cost of addressing issues in the treasurer’s office, including the potential interest fees charged by the state for delinquent tax payments.
The county received a letter from the Montana Department of Revenue on Monday saying its county collection reports and associated tax monies due to the state are delinquent for October, November and December.
Based on monies collected over the same period last year, the letter said Ravalli County owes the state more than $37,000 in interest. The state gave the county until Feb. 3 to resolve the issue.
The commission will attempt to negotiate a settlement.
Plettenberg also asked for and received permission to let all remaining temporary employees and volunteers go during this transition period.
“I think we’re doing OK for now,” she said. “We are just trying to keep this as controlled as possible.”
On Monday, Stamey’s lawyer, Robert Myers of Hamilton, informed the county that one of those former temporary employees, Michelle Pope, planned to sue Commissioner Jeff Burrows, treasurer’s office employee Bonnie Dugan and the county.
Myers said his client had been warned that she might be in a dangerous situation as “Ravalli County has very peculiar ways” of dealing with whistleblowers.
Myers said there had been an attempt to frame Pope for stealing money in an effort to tarnish her reputation after Pope found deposit receipt files missing.
Myers urged the county human resources director, Robert Jenni, to provide Pope “with a safe work environment free from the threat of illegal activity to harm her” when she returned to work Wednesday.
Burrows said Tuesday that he didn’t even know who Pope was until she testified at the meeting last week where Stamey was suspended. He said she came up to him after the meeting to inquire about security in the treasurer’s office.
Burrows said he told her the undersheriff and an information technology employee were dispatched to the treasurer’s office.
“That was the only conversation that I ever had with Ms. Pope,” Burrows said. “I have no idea what this is all about.”
Jenni said Pope worked about 130 hours over the past six weeks in the treasurer’s office.
There was a conflict in the office, but Jenni said he thought it had been resolved at a meeting in Stamey’s office.
Stamey and Pope are almost neighbors on Bear Creek Trail in Victor.
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Stamey’s presentation to the club was recorded by Theresa Manzella and later posted on YouTube.
Manzella is a Republican candidate for House District 85.
Stamey told the club that she had uncovered evidence of years of missing receipt documentation files in the treasurer’s office and illegal tax liens.
She said she had called for an investigation into her allegations by the FBI just days before being relieved of office.
Stamey said she made that decision after local authorities subverted attempts to bring in state investigators.
“I have 15 copies of this information distributed in a variety of places and hands throughout this county,” Stamey said, while holding a file folder. “If God determines it’s my time to go home and get out of this crazy mess, it won’t stop.”
Ravalli County Sheriff Chris Hoffman confirmed that the FBI has contacted the county about the potential of moving forward with an investigation.
Hoffman said Stamey never contacted him about her concerns.
Commissioner Suzy Foss made several calls to the Montana Department of Justice on the matter. Hoffman said he told the commissioner the state would not move forward with an investigation without an inquiry from his office or the county attorney.
“She told me that she didn’t want me to get involved in this political mess,” Hoffman said. “She also said she was uncomfortable with talking with the county attorney.”
Reporter Perry Backus can be reached at 363-3300 or at pbackus@ravallirepublic.com.
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PERRY BACKUS/Ravalli Republic
Ravalli County treasurer Valerie Stamey.
Florence Carlton Review 
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