Criminal charge filed in Laclede water probe

SANDPOINT — The Bonner County Prosecutor’s Office investigation into the Laclede Water District has produced a criminal charge against a member of its board of directors.

The charge is pending against Gerald “Jerry” Doyle, according to the Idaho Statewide Trial Court Record System.

The case file remains filed under seal until Doyle makes an initial appearance in magistrate court. A hearing date has not been disclosed.

County Prosecutor Louis Marshall did not respond to a request for comment on the nature of the charge in Doyle’s case. His office typically does not remark on criminal matters when they are still under seal.

A search warrant was served on the embattled water district in February. District officials told its patrons that records were taken for review and the contents of the district’s computer were copied onto a digital storage device so they could be examined.

The search followed months of rancor between the board and a group of district customers who contend their questions and concerns over fiscal and personnel management decisions had been disregarded.

District critics initiated a recall against Doyle and former board member Randal McLain last year. Recall backers collected signatures from 20 percent \of the district’s eligible voters to trigger a recall election.

McLain resigned amid the discord.

But the recall effort against Doyle was abruptly halted earlier this year, after the Bonner County Clerk’s Office was advised by the Idaho Secretary of State that recall backers had to submit petitions and signature pages all at once rather than in periodic slugs.

A chief objection to district practices involved the hiring of William Douglas Carothers, who is the son of former board member Kathy Doyle and the stepson of Jerry Doyle.

Carothers was hired in 2008 and his annual salary was increased to $26 an hour last year upon a motion by Jerry Doyle, according to meeting minutes.

Under state law, the conduct could be construed as using a public position for personal gain due to the close familial relationship between Doyle and Carothers.

Neither Carothers nor any other current or former board members are facing criminal charges, according to ISTARS.

Jerry Doyle, 66, declined on Friday to comment on the matter.

“I’m not willing to discuss it,” he said.