How much longer will lawyer be on payroll?

Letter to the commissioners of Bonner County via the Daily Bee:

First, a confession: I am a very slow learner! In 1986, I moved here from Virginia because I believed this community was the most beautiful in the world. (I still do believe that is a fact.)

Upon our arrival, I wrote a letter to the Daily Bee, it was printed and I received a phone call that night that advised me not to write any more letters about our airport.

I started going to the commissioners’ weekly meetings and foolishly asked questions. I recorded many of the answers and the questions. Some of these question-and-answer sessions became the subject of future letters to the Bee.

Here it is, more than 25 years later, and dummy me just woke up, of the hundreds of questions I asked at the meetings and of hundreds of answers I got from many different commissioners, only a few were heard by a few people who regularly attended these meetings.

When people asked me why I went, the only answer I had was I cared … I felt I was contributing in a small way to my new adopted home. Almost every week people asked me what I had learned at Tuesday’s meeting and when I told them what went on they usually laughed or said ‘”You’ve gotta be kidding.”

Well, let me get to the subject of this letter. I would like to ask the commissioners a question, in the paper and have them respond in the paper (if this is allowed.)

Commissioner Lewis Rich, in 2009 you signed a document hiring another lawyer for the county. He is a smart man and it is nice to have a smart lawyer on board, although I believe all lawyers are pretty smart.

What was his fee (hourly)?

How much has he billed the county so far?

Are you pleased with his accomplishments so far?

How much longer will he be on the payroll?

I hope that this letter will create a desire for many more voters to attend these meetings, I also sincerely hope that the Bee will allow this letter to be printed and that Commissioner Rich will have the courage to respond soon.

Thank you all,

JAMES A. BLAKE

Sandpoint