Commissioners weigh legal limits, cost and scope before deciding on outside probe

Commissioners spent substantial time considering whether an outside investigation is warranted, emphasizing that county policy and state law give employees and contract holders certain due‑process rights. Corporate counsel told the committee that outside firms typically ask: what exactly do you want investigated; are there specific written complaints with dates, times and witnesses; and how large is the potential scope.

"If we get specific complaints, like the policy requires — date, time, what happened, what he said, what he did — then we can give it to an investigator," corporate counsel said. Commissioners also discussed cost: one commissioner said, "I believe that the cost on this might start at $100,000," and another warned a full department review could exceed $1,000,000. The board agreed to collect any specific, non‑anonymous complaints, have county counsel review them and return a recommendation at the next committee meeting rather than immediately authorizing an external investigation.