Bauer files lawsuit against BOCC, deputy clerk

Bonner County Deputy Prosecutor Scott Bauer filed another lawsuit against the county Monday, this time regarding Deputy Clerk Veronica Dixon.

The lawsuit stems from a Jan. 30 public records request Bauer said he submitted seeking Dixon’s “most current official job description.” However, he contends the records he received Feb. 13 contained a falsified job description and falsely claimed Bonner County commissioners had approved the document.

“Upon information and belief, the signed [job description] was never submitted to the Bonner County Human Resources Department,” Bauer wrote in his lawsuit. “… This is a violation of HR policy and procedure or protocol as all signed [job descriptions] are immediately lodged with the HR Department.”

Bauer alleged the falsified document was prompted by his numerous written requests for Dixon’s job description prior to his official records request Jan. 30. His reasoning for doing so, he said, was to “determine if [Bauer] had supervisory duties over the legal assistant … so that [Bauer] could confirm and comply with his professional responsibilities under Idaho Rules of Professional Conduct regarding attorney supervision of legal assistants.”

According to the deputy prosecutor, Dixon ignored his requests prior to his official records request. After submitting his request, Bauer said that Dixon, along with commissioners, immediately agendized a modification to her job description that “would change Dixon’s ultimate report to the BOCC instead of the prosecuting attorney while still retaining the exact same legal assistant duties.”

Bauer said he believes this was a deliberate action in response to his records request. Additionally, he contends the change is an alleged violation of county policy as the prosecutor was not notified beforehand. The lawsuit also claims Dixon illegally implemented the updated job description, knowing it had not been properly approved by commissioners.

“On February 13, 2024, the BOCC agendized approval of the ‘updated’ [job description], but did not act on it, while knowing that the Feb. 6, 2024, [job description] was not approved,” Bauer said. “The [job description Bauer] requested was the one in effect on Jan. 30, 2024, and Dixon knowingly and willfully did not provide that requested [job description] document. Instead, Dixon knowingly and willfully provided a [job description] she had falsified.”

Bauer alleged that the correct document was provided to the deputy clerk after he submitted his records request — the document that states that Dixon ultimately reports to the prosecutor. However, he claims he has yet to receive that document, and only has the allegedly falsified one.

The deputy prosecutor also alleged that Commissioner Luke Omodt lied in emails sent to Bauer and other county officials, claiming Dixon’s job description had been properly updated when Bauer claims Omodt knew that was false.

“Has the BOCC and Dixon acted in bad faith in improperly refusing a legitimate request for public records and furnishing [Bauer] a falsified official government public record?” Bauer asked in his claim.

Bauer is requesting three remedies to the situation: An order directing the BOCC and Dixon to provide the appropriate document for Bauer’s public records request, an award of Bauer’s legal costs, and that each public official who has deliberately acted in bad faith to pay a $1,000 fine.