Water, sewer board engages with attorney

At their regular meeting on June 10, the Saratoga-Carbon County Impact Joint Powers Board (SCCIJPB) read a letter from the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) expressing their concern over funds managed by the Town of Saratoga.

The joint powers board also hired a law firm from Laramie to review the agreement between Carbon County and the Town of Saratoga forming the SCCIJPB.

Letter from BOCCC

“The Carbon County Commissioners were informed that the Town of Saratoga may have used Saratoga Carbon County Impact Joint Powers Board funds for operations or unrestricted purposes to cover deficits in general operations,” the letter read. “It is our understanding that funds for Joint Powers Boards are restricted for specific purposes by Wyoming Statute 15-7-507.”

As was reported previously (see “Taxation without representation?” on page 2 of the April 15 Saratoga Sun), Councilmember Jon Nelson had asked for aid from the county commissioners in declaring the enterprise funds for the joint powers board restricted.

The statute referenced by the letter from the BOCCC reads “all revenues derived from the operation of the sewerage system shall be set aside as collected and deposited in a special fund to be used only for; paying the cost of operating and maintaining the system, providing an adequate depreciation fund and paying the principal and interest on the bonds issued under this article.”

“Further, at the Town of Saratoga Town Council Meeting held on May 19, 2020, there was a discussion amongst the Town Council regarding whether the Town should retroactively charge a water and sewer usage fee for the prior 20 years, which would allow the Town to balance its audit and correct deficits in the Town’s general fund,” the letter continued.

As was also reported previously (see “What is a reasonable allocation” on page 1 of the May 27 Saratoga Sun), third-party accountant James Childress had discussed his study of 20 years of activity between the Town of Saratoga’s general fund and enterprise funds including the water fund and sewer fund. While Childress stated that the funds were restricted, he also suggested that those funds should have been charged an interfund overhead allocation.

The letter from the BOCCC recommended that the joint powers board request an audit of any funds held by the Town of Saratoga or any other entities. In addition to being sent to the joint powers board, the letter also had the Town of Saratoga, Childress Accounting and Consulting, the State of Wyoming’s Public Funds Division and Wyoming Attorney General Bridget Hill carbon copied.

“So, in this letter they recommend that we perform an audit of our funds. Do we have a need to do that at this point? Where do we stand at this point?” asked SCCIJPB Vice Chairman Craig Kopasz.

“I think we may get there, may get to that request, but I really think we need to get our agreement updated (and) get an attorney in place so that we get some advice for that situation. Not from the county attorney or the town attorney. Our own attorney,” said SCCIJPB Treasurer Russ Waldner. “So, I kind of think we’re in the position where we have to get the attorney hired before we can really respond to that letter.”

While SCCIJPB member Roger Cox stated that both the joint powers board and the Town of Saratoga had been audited every year, Waldner stated that those audits did not cover what was being requested by the county commissioners.

No action was officially taken on the letter from the BOCCC, but was officially read into the record for the meeting of the joint powers board.

Legal Counsel Engaged

SCCIJPB Chairman Richard Raymer informed the rest of the board that he, Waldner and Kopasz had interviewed four separate legal firms that had responded to the joint powers board’s request for proposals. Of those, Raymer stated that the firm Corthell and King of Laramie had stood out for the trio.

“They did an awful lot of preliminary research before submitting their proposal, they had a lot of good questions to ask us and a lot of very good answers to our questions that were asked to them. I think, as (far as) the three of us were concerned, our recommendation to this board was to recommend for hire the firm Corthell and King,” said Raymer. “They had no conflicts of interest with town or county attorneys.”

Raymer added that each law firm had been given an hour in which to ask questions or provide answers to the three members of the SCCIJPB and that Corthell and King had used the entire hour to discuss the joint powers board agreement. According to Raymer, Corthell and King were the lowest bid, offering a government rate of $130 per hour.

“They know that we’re not looking to spend a couple thousand dollars a month. They know that we’re on a budget and what we need the most is advice,” Raymer said. “They do know that we aren’t just giving them the checkbook and say, ‘Go with it.’”

The SCCIJPB voted unanimously to engage Corthell and King with Raymer serving as the point of contact between the joint powers board and the law firm. It was also requested that the law firm appear at the July meeting of the joint powers board.

The next meeting of the Saratoga Carbon County Impact Joint Powers Board will be at 6 p.m. on July 8 at Saratoga Town Hall.