Nez Perce County officials dispute Rodriguez claim about insurer's letter

Oct. 15--Two Nez Perce County commissioners and Prosecutor Justin Coleman said Wednesday that no county elected officials received a letter from the Idaho Counties Risk Management Program like the one Sheriff Joe Rodriguez described at a question-and-answer session Monday.

"We have reached out to all Nez Perce County elected officials and ICRMP," said a letter signed by commissioners Douglas Havens and Douglas Zenner and Prosecutor Justin Coleman. "Nez Perce County has not received a letter from ICRMP that says they will handle all personnel matters solely for counties throughout the State of Idaho and attempt to exclude the Prosecutor's Offices from providing legal advice to their County clients."

Commission Chairman Don Beck, who did not sign the letter, was in hunting camp Wednesday and unreachable.

The Wednesday letter included a copy of an Oct. 1 letter from Coleman to Rodriguez terminating legal representation on matters of personnel and general management.

The letter also included a copy of last week's public statement from the commissioners and prosecutor announcing ICRMP, the county's insurer, was instituting a deductible scale ranging from $15,000 for the first claim against Rodriguez involving employment and personnel claims to $60,000 after four or more claims. The deductibles, previously $0, were added after Rodriguez allegedly released confidential information from personnel files to the anonymous Facebook page LC Valley Corruption over the summer.

The county news release issued last week said the decision to terminate legal representation "was based on messaged correspondence between Sheriff Rodriguez and an anonymous Facebook page in which the sheriff named and disclosed numerous employees' confidential information." Some of the information allegedly came from employees' personnel files, creating liability for the county.

The Wednesday letter said Rodriguez was provided short-term legal representation by outside counsel to address potential liability concerns ahead of his Monday question-and-answer session, which was originally planned as an opportunity for people to ask any question of the sheriff. The evening began with the disclaimer that, because of legal advice, no questions about the release of confidential information from personnel files online would be answered because of potential liability to the county.

"What nobody knows is that our county insurance, ICRMP, sent out a letter to all elected officials basically saying any kind of personnel matter has to now go through them," The sheriff told the audience at the Lewiston Community Center Monday. "We can't do it at county. We can't go through the prosecutor's office. Any kind of personnel matters goes through ICRMP, and them only."

On Wednesday, Rodriguez said he was referring to an ICRMP letter from Aug. 28 to elected county officials titled ICRMP Insurance Policy Changes effective Oct. 1, 2020.

However, that letter describes a different deductible policy, which can be waived if ICRMP advice is followed.

"We continue to see a significant rise in both the number of employment practices claims and the amounts paid to defend and settle claims," ICRMP underwriting manager Sandy Moser said in the August letter. "Due to this rising claim frequency and severity we are amending our employment practices liability coverage to include a per claim deductible of $5,000."

The August letter also discussed cyber liability and announced a new, higher $10,000 deductible for liability claims in that area.

ICRMP Executive Director Timothy L. Osborne explained in an Oct. 6 letter why the new graduated deductible scheme, which cannot be waived, was put in place specifically for Rodriguez's office.

"Due to the continuing behaviors of Sheriff Rodriguez which have now resulted in the withdrawal of legal counsel, I am compelled to enact the attached endorsement effective immediately," Osborne wrote.

Coleman's Oct. 1 letter to Rodriguez informing the sheriff that he would no longer provide legal advice on personnel and general management matters said Rodriguez "mocks and disregards" advice and counsel from ICRMP and "continues behaviors that create substantial risk of liability to the county."

Contacted for comment Wednesday, Rodriguez said, "I have to focus on being sheriff and being a good husband to my wife, who just had surgery."

Wells may be contacted at [email protected] or (208) 848-2275.

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