The Flathead County Sheriff’s Union narrowly turned down a vote of no confidence in Sheriff Mike Meehan last week.
The union’s members voted 16-13 to deny the no-confidence proposal at a meeting on June 30, according to Jordan White, president of the union and the department’s former search and rescue coordinator.
“It was proposed and discussed at length, but when it finally went to vote it failed,” White said.
While White said members were aware the question might come up, the union’s normally scheduled quarterly meeting was originally meant to discuss contract negotiations and planning for the annual Christmas party.
The no-confidence proposal arose, White said, because some union members were upset over how Meehan dealt with a command staff member, who was allegedly found intoxicated in his county vehicle.
There were also concerns regarding a command staff supervisor who was involved in an intimate relationship with a subordinate, who was promoted to an administrative position.
“I think overall it was a lack of communication that caused a lot of frustrations between the sheriff and his staff,” White said.
In response to the controversy, White said Meehan held two meetings with the department’s deputies the day before and the day of the union meeting in an effort to dispel rumors and answer questions. Meehan was unable to be reached last week.
White said he wished the department and union would have been able to work through their issues in private. Instead, anonymous e-mails detailing the controversy were sent to some local media and union members, he said.
“The thing that I’d have to say nobody wants is ill will between any of us,” White said. “The fact that this has made it into the public eye at all is a disappointment to us and unfortunate because it’s a distraction to the work we need to get done.”