Salem, Ore. – On December 12th, the Oregon Government Ethics Commission (OGEC) voted unanimously to open formal investigations into current and former members of the Ochoco West Water and Sanitary Authority (OWWSA) board, finding a substantial objective basis to believe numerous violations of Oregon’s public meetings laws may have occurred.
The action follows a consolidated complaint submitted by the Prineville Review after months of unresolved compliance issues involving meeting notice, executive sessions, and access for the public and news media. The complaint combined four separate public meetings’ grievances tied to meetings held in December 2024 and July 2025.
OGEC investigator Casey Fenstermaker told commissioners the complaint was filed by the Prineville Review, who had formally requested notice as media for OWWSA governing body meetings. Fenstermaker said the record supported moving the matters forward to investigation.
According to the investigator’s report, OWWSA’s Board allegedly failed to provide required notice to the Prineville Review, issued deficient meeting notices lacking sufficiently specific agendas and required accommodation information, failed to provide electronic access to meetings, and repeatedly cited incorrect or incomplete statutory authority when convening executive sessions. Investigators also found evidence that at least one executive session included discussion of employee compensation, which is prohibited under Oregon law, and that OWWSA failed to post required grievance information on its website.
Three of the meetings under review occurred in July 2025 and followed the return of long-time board member Dan Parks, who was reseated on July 1 after previously resigning and later running again for another seat. One of those meetings reportedly occurred on Parks’ first day back on the board and resulted in his appointment as board chair, a position he previously held for extended periods dating back to the late 2000s.
Investigators said public meetings compliance issues escalated after Parks became chair and have continued to the present.
The Ethics Commission’s action comes amid a broader wave of scrutiny surrounding OWWSA that has unfolded over the past year. As previously reported by the Prineville Review, the district has been the subject of repeated public records disputes resulting in two orders from Crook County District Attorney Kari Hathorn.
In a Nov. 24 order, Hathorn granted a public records appeal petition filed by the Prineville Review, finding that OWWSA unreasonably delayed releasing recorded board meeting audio, failed to tie its fee demands to actual costs, and improperly handled a public-interest fee waiver request.
That decision followed an earlier August order by Hathorn stemming from a separate July 21 public records request seeking communications between board members. In late October, attorneys for the Prineville Review filed a lawsuit in Crook County Circuit Court alleging OWWSA failed to fully comply with that August order. The lawsuit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief and remains pending.
Public meetings violations have also continued despite escalating scrutiny. In July, OWWSA held a special meeting with only four hours’ notice—far short of the 24-hour minimum required by Oregon law—despite being warned in advance that proceeding would violate the statute, and having already been in the middle of a public meetings grievance due to earlier violations. The meeting was not an emergency, and at least one board member even raised concerns about compliance before Board Chair Dan Parks called the meeting to order.
Just prior to that meeting, longtime OWWSA legal counsel Jered Reid resigned. Meeting records and prior reporting show Reid had been advising the board on mounting legal, insurance, and governance concerns, including warnings that the district may have been operating outside the scope of its statutory authority. The July 29th meeting included an agenda item authorizing Parks to seek new legal counsel, an action Reid was reportedly unaware of at the time that the Prineville Review raised issue with the OWWSA Board and Reid directly hours before the meeting was held.
The Ethics Commission vote also included former board members Ross and Mary Scrocca, though their involvement was more limited. Ross Scrocca’s service ended in December 2024, while Mary Scrocca’s term concluded in June 2025. Neither participated in the July meetings that make up the bulk of the allegations.
Board member Tony Sneath, who currently sits on the board, also testified during the preliminary review hearing that his remote attendance during an earlier July 1st meeting was brief and did not involve any votes. That claim appeared to be an effort to contest the accuracy of its July 1st written meeting minutes, which included an executive session. Sneath joined at approximately 6:29pm during the middle of the executive session, which lasted from 6:09pm until 7:44pm, where all voted in favor of at least one motion to approve a “managed network services quote”, according to the meeting’s minutes.
When reviewing the meeting’s audio, it was not clear how Sneath voted, if at all, due to his attendance by phone, nor could it be confirmed if he was still present at that time by telephone. A roll call vote was not conducted; it was instead a simultaneous voice vote.
Sneath has been one of the few board members to speak on the record with the Prineville Review, although his comments have been limited while expressing his concerns for issues raised by the community, as well as those uncovered since this summer by this publication.
Mary Scrocca, who served as board chair during the December 2024 meeting, told commissioners that the board had worked with Reid to address the earlier grievance raised by the Prineville Review and that many issues were corrected at that time. She said later notice failures in spring 2025 were attributed to staff errors by OWWSA management.
This publication’s investigation into OWWSA began only after concerned homeowners reached out late last year, and again earlier this year, raising questions about governance, access, and transparency. Those concerns expanded as records requests, whistleblower disclosures, and public documents revealed additional issues involving board operations, relationships with the Ochoco West Property Owners Association, and the district’s legal authority over land and facilities.
Additional findings of alleged financial misappropriation by former district manager Ray Horton, and the reported nepotism by current manager Jamie Helms in the part-time employment of her spouse, Crystal Helms, were also recently discovered after the anonymous delivery of internal financial documents. Other partial investigative records involving Horton were also provided. The OWWSA continues to ignore and delay production of records to the Prineville Review, seeking the full third-party investigative report, as well as other records involving the Helms’.
The OWWSA Board also appeared set on trying to adopt a constitutionally questionable “media screening policy” in response to the initial reporting on the issues earlier this year by the Prineville Review, but quickly dropped its consideration after concerns and warnings of a legal challenge were made by this publication. The OWWSA has avoided providing any comment or documents on the full scope of this intended policy.
Among the unresolved issues drawing scrutiny is OWWSA’s failure to file required Annual Comprehensive Financial Reports (ACFRs) with the Oregon Secretary of State. The district has acknowledged it is missing nearly three years of audit reports. Months ago, OWWSA said it was still working with a third-party accounting firm on its fiscal year 2023 report. However, its fiscal year 2024 report was due at the end of last year, and its fiscal year 2025 report is due by the end of this month.
Despite those deadlines, the OWWSA Board has not publicly reviewed or approved its fiscal year 2023 ACFR. Under Oregon law, continued failure to file required audit reports can trigger state action, including proceedings that may require the Crook County Board of Commissioners to initiate dissolution of a noncompliant special district.
During deliberations, Ethics Commission Board Chair Dave Fiskum acknowledged the challenges faced by small special districts but said the record presented conflicting accounts and unresolved factual questions that warranted further investigation. The Commission voted 7–0 to authorize investigations into all named matters and individuals.
The vote does not constitute a finding of wrongdoing but allows the Commission to subpoena records, gather evidence, and determine whether violations occurred and whether penalties or corrective action are appropriate. A full report by OGEC investigators to the Commission is expected by the summer.
Editor's Note: The OGEC did not take any action to investigate separate allegations involving Oregon ethics laws under ORS Chapter 244, as the Prineville Review complaint only deals with issues pertaining to public meetings that hinder our access. Inline with our journalistic role, it is not our position to submit formal complaints on non-public meeting issues, including alleged ethics violations and nepotism, to government officials.
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Mr. Alderman is an investigative journalist specializing in government transparency, non-profit accountability, consumer protection, and is a subject mater expert on Oregon’s public records and meetings laws. As a former U.S. Army Military Police Officer, he brings a disciplined investigative approach to his reporting that has frequently exposed ethics violations, financial mismanagement, and transparency failures by public officials and agencies.
 voted unanimously to open formal investigations into current and former members of the Ochoco West Water and Sanitary Authority (OWWSA) board, finding a substantial objective basis to believe numerous violations of Oregon’s public meetings laws may have occurred.){kind=link}