Bozeman Commissioners expect to hire investigator July 20

Bozeman City Commissioners are expected to award a contract to an outside investigator on July 20.
They expect that person to get to clear the air about a controversial hiring practice the city has since stopped doing.
And they expect that investigator to find out who's telling the truth---city staffers or a whistleblower.

The city's administration came under widespread public criticism after word got out that for the past three years the city asked potential employees to provide their usernames and passwords to any social networking sites they belong to. That practice at first was only limited to police and fire department candidates but city officials extended it to apply to all potential new hires.

City staff originally defended the practice saying it was necessary to check on the character of potential employees.
Shortly after city officials announced they were no longer going to continue that practice, another controversy came to light ----city administration told Commissioners asking for passwords-usernames was strictly voluntary but an unnamed city employee told Commissioners that is wasn't voluntary.

Commissioners last week directed City Attorney Greg Sullivan to find an investigator who knows labor laws and civil rigths laws.
Sullivan is expected to present a list of candidates to Commissioners on July 13.
The Commission and city administration have not yet estimated how much they are willing to spend on this investigation.
Anchor/Reporter Jonathan Athens can be reached at: jathens@ktvm.com or (406) 586-0296, Ext. 105.