Judge, council conflict cools down

Havre city officials are attempting to calm down a dispute between the city judge and City Council members after a tense session Monday night.

City Judge Virginia Seigel lit into the city administration at Monday night's council meeting over two issues.

The judge secured a $30,000 grant from the Montana Board of Criminal Justice to hire a misdemeanor probation officer. The officer would work with people who had been sentenced on misdemeanor charges to ensure that they are following the stipulations sent by the judge, such as a ban on consumption of alcohol or participation in a drug treatment program.

Often, the judge said, she doesn't see these people again until they have once again been arrested. These people get caught in the police to court to detention center cycle, she said.

The city's high crime rate could be cut down and the city could be more secure if these people were treated early on before the situation escalates, she said.

But the grant came with a stipulation, she said, that the city fund the remaining part of the probation officer's salary.

Mayor Tim Solomon said every department could propose hiring additional people and could make a case for it. But the city is at its tax limit and can't afford to pay for new hires. Instead, he and other council members proposed that the $30,000 be used to hire a part-time probation officer.

At first, Seigel rejected that idea, saying the state insisted on matching funds from the city. Council members, upon reading the grant, said that wasn't the case, and refused to authorize a full-time hire.

The judge was also upset by the way checks issued by the court are processed.

After the judge signs the check, the second signature comes from City Clerk Doug Kaercher, the city's finance director.

The judge said that was a violation of separation of power between the executive and the judicial. Prior to the meeting, she wrote what council members believed was a judicial order that members of the Finance Committee, not Kaercher, sign checks.

Finance Committee Chair Allen "Woody" Woodwick said he didn't want to be the one responsible and said Kaercher, as the finance director, should sign the checks.

Solomon said that the judge is autonomous in every aspect of her job except finance, and the city has the responsibility to oversee the money.

The debate became very tense at times, with the judge insisting that she was taking a stand only because of her love of Havre.

"I am standing here with my palms sweating and heart throbbing because I love Havre," she said.

The discussion turned sharp at times, with voices cracking and people glaring at each other.

But Wednesday, Seigel said she was confident that things would work out.

"Doug, Woody, Andrew (Brekke) and I are all on Team Havre," she said.

She said should would hire a part-time probation officer, and that one of the applicants for the full-time position agreed to work as a part-timer. She will conduct an interview later this week. The probation officer will help reduce crime recidivists, she said.

She said she and city officials will meet to discuss the best way to process checks.

She said the letter to city officials was meant as a suggestion, and perhaps she erred in using the word order.