Jefferson County prosecutor responds to AG letter
Jefferson County Prosecutor Robin Dunn told the Jefferson County Commissioners Monday that he’s done nothing wrong.
A nine page letter from the attorney general was closely reviewed by Jefferson County commissioners on Monday morning.
The letter outlined several concerns the Attorney General found during his investigation, including concerns about Dunn.
The Monday meeting centered on Dunn’s activities. One issue concerned the fact that he allegedly doesn’t keep track of his time very well, and whether his staff is working on his private work on the county’s dime.
The hearing was open to the public, and one resident of Jefferson County said she didn’t buy Dunn’s explanations.
“Twist things with his legal jargon to make it sound like he knows what he’s talking about and he’s on the up and up but I’ve never felt like he’s been on the up and up,”said Jill Peterson
Dunn continues to stand by his innocence.
While it is not pursuing further legal action, the Idaho Attorney General’s Office did find the root of citizen complaints was “an inappropriate abdication of authority by the Jefferson County Commissioners to other county officers, particularly in matters involving public funds”.
The Attorney General’s office revealed the commissioners overlooked or approved illegal or questionable expenses on a number of occasions.
The office did recommend the current County Commissioners seek training on the duties and responsibilities of a county commissioner and ethical training on conflicts of interest for public officials.
It also encouraged commissioners to adopt appropriate policies governing the approval of expenses, credit card charges, per diems, and phone bills.
And, the office recommended the commissioners determine what legal resources the county needs and whether they should hire one or two full-time prosecutors. It encouraged the commission to design policies to ensure that deputies accurately account and document the time they actually work for the county.
You can read the letter from Attorney General’s office here.
NOTE: The original story suggested that the Attorney General stood by the Dunn’s innocence. That is not the case, the Attorney General never commented that Dunn was innocent in the letter.
