County argues over $72,000 severance payment for exiting employee

By Soncirey Mitchell
Reader Staff

Bonner County Commissioners Luke Omodt and Steve Bradshaw have recently come under scrutiny by fellow-Commissioner Asia Williams and some members of the public for supporting a $72,000 severance payment to Business Operations Manager, Deputy Clerk and Public Information Officer Jessi Reinbold, who will vacate her position at a to-be-determined date.

The money will come from interest earned on funds from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

The county has not yet disclosed why Reinbold resigned, nor have officials released a statement explaining the necessity of the severance payment. Omodt declined a request for additional comment and Bradshaw did not respond by press time.

“I will say that this was a very hard decision for me and I am very sad about leaving,” wrote Reinbold in an Aug. 6 email to the Reader. 

Bonner County Commissioners Asia Williams, left; Luke Omodt, center; Steve Bradshaw, right.
Photo by Soncirey Mitchell.

“I am hoping that my name is not smeared throughout the media any further,” she added, referring to allegations of impropriety made by the right-wing blog Redoubt News.

“Redoubt (Shari Dovale) prints one sided, misinformed articles on a pretty consistent basis, I have no regard for that publication,” Reinbold wrote.

Personnel matters are ordinarily confidential; however, after receiving permission from legal counsel, Williams made information about the severance public after the Aug. 1 executive session. 

“[W]hen someone is asking to receive money out of the taxpayer’s coffers for terminating their own employment, it is prudent for me to provide the information to the public,” she said.

Williams went on to read a prepared statement, which included excerpts from the findings of two separate investigations into Bradshaw and herself.

She began by stating that Reinbold’s resignation and request for compensation “sort of” stem from the threat Bradshaw allegedly made against Williams’ life in August  2023, which was reported by County Risk Manager Christian Jostlein.

Both Reinbold and Omodt testified on behalf of Bradshaw, but according to the excerpt read by Williams, an unidentified, independent investigator concluded that “Mr. Jostlein’s account is more credible than the accounts of Mrs. Reinbold and Mr. Omodt taken collectively.”

Williams did not clarify how this finding related to the deputy clerk’s decision to step down, or her future severance payment, and did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

Williams then summarized numerous accusations made against her by unnamed county employees alleging “harassment and prejudice” and “unkind behavior” on Williams’ part — accusations that she stated she requested be investigated.

“It does not appear that Bonner County’s personnel policies apply to county commissioners,” Williams read from the second investigation’s report of findings.

“Bonner County’s personnel policies do not subject Commissioner Williams to discipline for behaving in a manner that the deputy clerks feel is rude,” Williams read from the report. “That being said, the investigator did not find evidence that Commissioner Williams engaged in rude and disrespectful behavior.” 

Rather, the reported behavior reflected the “frequently opposing political positions taken by” Williams, Omodt and Bradshaw, the investigator stated.

Williams did not outright identify how this finding related to Reinbold’s departure, but she did reveal that her fellow commissioners refer to the severance payment as “prevention of litigation.”

“There is no litigation that has been filed. There is no notice of torte. There is no notice of representation,” said Williams, going on to argue that no payment should be made until and unless Reinbold chooses to sue.

She emphasized that $72,000 is a large sum to pay, especially considering the commissioners had ruled that the budget could not support the $45,000 salary needed to hire an additional custodian for the county’s buildings.

Williams declined to comment further on the topic at the Aug. 6 business meeting, though stated that members of the public have asked if the payment is a “gift” or a “misuse of county money.” She, in turn, submitted those concerns to Prosecutor Louis Marshall, who will reportedly pass them on to the Idaho Attorney General’s Office for investigation.

“If people have a question on that payment, please address that to the attorney general,” said Williams.

Additional reporting by Zach Hagadone.