The Mayor’s open letter to Clark Fork residents

Dear Clark Fork Residents,

I am authoring this letter in response to an increase in inquiries we have received from citizens within the community regarding recent criminal fraud related to the City’s water infrastructure project. The City of Clark Fork prides itself in maintaining an open and transparent government, which in most instances includes a policy of “Maximum Disclosure, Minimum Delay” on items of public interest. With that said, some may have recognized that the City has released limited information related to the recent incident involving criminal fraud which has affected the City.

When matters are under pending criminal investigation, investigative agencies often request that information related to their investigation not be disseminated to the public in an attempt to minimize the possibility of interference with investigatory functions and to prevent threat actors from compromising evidence which may not yet be discovered. The Idaho Public Records Act recognizes the significance of this and provides explicit exemptions when such disclosure may interfere with investigatory proceedings or disclose investigative techniques. As this matter has been turned over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in hopes of identifying the threat actor who is criminally responsible in this case, the City has been mindful to prevent unauthorized disclosures of information subject to this investigation.

The City remains hopeful that at the conclusion of the federal investigation, the threat actor may be identified and the funds returned, similar to the success which was yielded by the City of Gooding this past year after an extensive federal investigation in that jurisdiction. In the meantime, the City will continue to follow the directives and advice of its attorneys and investigators, dissuading the unnecessary disclosure of investigatory information in an attempt to maximize all possible opportunities for return of the stolen funds. We appreciate the understanding and assistance of our citizens through this process and will continue to work diligently behind the scenes to protect the financial interests of our citizens.

Sincerely,

Russell Schenck, Mayor