"To even be talking about criminal charges" is farther than the matter should have proceeded, he said. Instead of an investigation, "typically we would handle this by just looking into it and correcting the problem."

Skousen cited what he believes to be a similar situation in the late 1990s between then-county attorney Doug Short and the County Commission. That resulted in a series of civil lawsuits, but nothing criminal.

Democratic Councilman Joe Hatch noted that the panel members (two members of which are Republican, two Democrat), not Yocom, would be the ones to decide the charges.

"My genuine hope is that the investigation would (conclude) that there was nothing wrong, and if there was something wrong it would not be criminal. . . . It would put the county in a very, very bad position," he said. "I hope it doesn't happen."

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E-mail: aedwards@desnews.com