The Uintah County Commission conducted a Legislative Hearing on Thursday morning in order to gather testimony and fact based information as the County investigates a Notice of Claim against the County submitted by Uintah County Sheriff Steve Labrum. The Notice of Claim alleges that Public Safety employees of Uintah County were intentionally denied retirement contributions without justification or explanation. Uintah County Commissioner Bill Stringer led the hearing, emphasizing that this was not a trial or an opportunity for public input but instead a hearing to gather facts so the Commission can determine what happened with the contribution process, if the Claim is justified in whole or part, and what to do as a result. Ahead of the hearing, subpoenas for witnesses and records were issued. In response, the following were put under oath during the hearing and questioned: Uintah County Sheriff Steve Labrum, Uintah County Human Resources Director Tonya Craven, Uintah County Budget Officer Mark Caldwell, Uintah County Deputy Clerk/Auditor Leeann George, and Uintah County Clerk/Auditor Mike Wilkins. Ms. George and Mr. Wilkins both had their lawyers present. Mr. Wilkins answered many of the questions with “No Comment” or “It’s In The Documents”. Like the witnesses before him, he submitted documents to the Commission following his testimony. He encouraged the public to obtain the documents through Gramma request. The meeting was streamed live on the Uintah IT Youtube channel.
