Sheriff Chris Kaber hired the lawyer to provide a second opinion in a disagreement over whether he should be allowed to work with his two sons in the same department.
Kaber argued that the county’s own legal staff couldn’t provide an objective opinion on the matter.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Commissioner David Henslee said if the county paid this lawyer’s invoice, they would be agreeing with his opinion.
“There’s some things he said that are accurate,” Henslee said. “But I don’t agree with everything he said. And I don’t want the county to be in a position to defend what he said if we’re sued down the road by somebody else. What he did was damaging for our staff.”
The two sides were locked in a tense battle late last year. It included a state ethics complaint filed by Henslee over the appointment of Kaber’s son Ryan to another position in the department.
Commissioners then rescinded an agreement with the sheriff that allowed his son’s, Ryan and Erick, to work at the department. Normally, family members are not allowed to directly supervise each other.
The commissioners gave the Kabers 90 days to decide what to do next: either the sheriff could resign, or his two sons would be fired. But, the commissioners decided to suspend that ultimatum at the last minute. During that time, the sheriff hired lawyer C. Akin Blitz.
Sergeant Ryan Kaber has also threatened to sue the county over a lost promotion. Ryan is also running for sheriff in the upcoming May primary election. His father decided not to run for an additional term.
The sheriff has argued that as an elected official, he’s not beholden to commissioners. But, because his budget is controlled by the board, Sheriff Kaber needed to get approval for such a large expense like this legal fee.
“I believe this was the right move for me,” Kaber said. “I tried to get permission to go along with your policy, and I was rebuffed by the county attorney.”
Henslee said that the county has approved outside legal counsel in the past for other departments, but that was done before the lawyers were hired. He said the sheriff hired this lawyer without prior approval, and is now seeking approval to pay him after the fact.
County commissioners denied his request during Tuesday’s meeting. Kaber said the lawyer might be forced to find other ways to obtain payment, but did not provide any specifics.
