Labor attorney hired to help with PD internal investigation

An internal investigation at the Columbus Police Department that has been ongoing for more than three months was brought to the attention of the Columbus Town Council at its Oct. 19 meeting.
Town Attorney Doug Howard, who has been working with Columbus Police Chief Bill Pronovost about the personnel matter, recommended that the council hire an outside attorney with specialized knowledge about employment law to assist in the matter.
The council agreed and unanimously approved hiring Billings attorney Tom Singer at $250 per hour for up to 10 hours to work on the confidential matter.
An item about the internal investigation appeared in the July 6 Stillwater County Sheriff’s dispatch log, and again on July 20. Pronovost has said throughout that he can not comment on the matter because it is a personnel issue.
The council approved Howard’s recommendation to hire an outside attorney with no debate. In later interviews with the News, the councilors all said they didn’t know what the internal investigation was about but trusted the town attorney’s advice in making their decision. Mayor Gary Woltermann was out-of-town and not be reached for comment by deadline.
Councilor Patti Sundberg, who motioned to approve spending up to $2,500 for an outside attorney, told the News there was no cause for alarm about a public safety issue.
Councilor Terry Nystul, who seconded the motion, said he didn’t believe the issue was a public safety concern. He said the town’s budget allowed for special legal expenses, but as for future liability issues if the matter turned into a lawsuit, “Anything is possible.”
Councilor Jon Brown said he had planned to talk to the police chief about the matter.
If the council decides to discuss the matter in detail, it will likely go into executive session, closing the doors to the public. Nystul said it’s been a “very long time” since that last happened in Columbus.
Town Clerk Ron Barndt said during the Oct. 19 council meeting that a new Montana law requires that minutes be kept during an executive session.