Article published Nov 30, 2007

No secrets with SME, city says

By RICHARD ECKE

Tribune Staff Writer

City Manager John Lawton said Thursday that the city does not have any active confidentiality agreements with Southern Montana Electric Generation & Transmission Cooperative, a group that wants to build a coal-fired power plant near Great Falls.

Such agreements, in which officials agree to keep mum on certain issues, recently became controversial in Great Falls.

The Great Falls International Airport Authority rescinded its confidentiality agreement amid board dissension; criticism from the Tribune's editorial board, online forums and local blogs; and a joint letter from city and county commissioners suggesting public officials in Montana cannot legally sign such agreements.

Although the Airport Board grudgingly ditched the agreement Tuesday, an airport staff memo provided to board members before the meeting said the city and county were selective about such agreements.

"The city is currently committed to a confidentiality agreement with SME," the memo said.

Lawton denied that.

He said that when he and Coleen Balzarini, the city's fiscal officer, first met with SME officials several years ago, they "were requested to sign confidentiality agreements in order to sit in on the first couple of meetings. We did so on our own behalf, not on behalf of the city."

Lawton said the pacts did not go beyond those meetings.

"After the city became an SME member and had actual business dealings with them, we asked the city attorney if we should sign confidentiality agreements and he advised us not to do so," Lawton said. "In keeping with his advice, we did not sign any such agreements, nor have the commissioners or the mayor signed such agreements."

Lawton said he does not know of any situations where there are active confidentiality agreements signed by city employees or commissioners.

Schultz said Thursday that the memo circulated to Airport Authority board members referenced the agreement Balzarini and Lawton signed years ago. She said she talked to Lawton about the pact with SME, but didn't discuss whether it was still active.

Airport board members haven't completely dropped the issue of confidentiality agreements, saying they think such pacts can protect businesses interested in coming to Great Falls. Some board suggested altering airport bylaws to help protect those prospective businesses.