Valley County Commission Candidate John Rogenes Provides Statement on North Valley County Water and Sewer District Recall Effort
Four members of the North Valley County Water and Sewer District board of directors are facing potential recall elections after Valley County election officials verified that petitions contain sufficient valid signatures to proceed.
Valley County Clerk and Recorder and Election Administrator Marie Pippin says the petitions target board members John Rogenes, DeLee Hustad, Penny Parsons and Carmen Pedersen.
According to Pippin, because the petitions were received less than 90 days before the general election, a special election must be held.
The recall petition against John Rogenes alleges official misconduct involving E. coli monitoring and public notification, a late Consumer Confidence Report, and a water-rate resolution approved without ensuring customers were notified beforehand.
In a statement sent directly to Kltz/Mix-93 Radio on October 26th, Rogenes disputes aspects of the allegations and offers his explanation of the events.
On the E. coli monitoring issue, Rogenes says the original sample was collected and shipped on time, but a breakdown involving the delivery vehicle delayed its arrival at the laboratory. He says a replacement sample was taken and personally delivered on time, and that it passed testing. Rogenes also states the district has never had a contaminated water test.
Regarding the annual Consumer Confidence Report, Rogenes acknowledges the report is late. He says preparation of the report is the responsibility of a certified water operator who works part-time, and that the report will be filed as soon as possible.
On the water-rate issue, Rogenes says the resolution approved at the August 13th board meeting was rescinded at the September 10th meeting. He maintains the increase was never implemented and customers did not pay higher rates.
Pippin says certified letters notifying the four directors of the allegations were scheduled to be sent October 26th. After receiving their letters, each director may resign or submit a statement explaining why they should not be recalled. Those statements must be submitted within ten days of receipt and will be printed on the ballot.
Rogenes is also a candidate for Valley County commissioner and is challenging incumbent Paul Tweten.
The special election date has not been announced in the information provided by the Election Office.
Here is the statement from John Rogenes:
October 26, 2026
This is a fact finding mission orchestrated by John Rogenes regarding the Recall Petition from Marie Pippin, Valley County Clerk & Recorder for the alleged official misconduct of four members of the Board of the North Valley County Water & Sewer District, Inc.
The first question is the validity of the signatures ensuring that they are in fact the required quota of the 250+ legitimate voters of Saint Marie. Those are the water users who are registered voters and receive the water bills in their name.
The first fact is regarding the E. Coli monitoring and public notification. The sample was taken and shipped on time to the required address in Billings, MT. The only failure was not complying with the thirty-hour requirement to get the sample delivered which is because the public carrier vehicle failed enroute. A re-sample was taken immediately and personally delivered on a timely basis and the sample passed. It should be noted that the North Valley Water District, Inc. has never had a contaminated water test.
The second fact is the timely distribution of the Consumer Confidence Report. That is required to be completed by a certified water operator. That person is a temporary employee who works part time, and has completed every monthly test report as required. The annual report is indeed late at this time and will be filed as soon as possible.
The third fact concerns the water-rate resolution which was passed at the August 13, 2026 board meeting. This was under the advice of the Montana Rural Water Advisory Board. The rest of the story is that the increase was never implemented since it was rescinded at the September 10th meeting. The result being no increase was paid by any customers.
