Smaller council, hired city-manager could be on ballot in Butte-Silver Bow

Potential ballot measures would let voters reduce the Butte-Silver Bow Council of Commissioners from 12 seats to five, with one as mayor, and put a non-elected city-county manager in charge of day-to-day operations of local government.

The Butte-Silver Bow Local Government Study Commission crafted the proposals as possible changes voters could decide on in the November election nine months from now.

The proposals are only preliminary and will be part of a report issued in February. The commission will then seek public feedback on them before making final decisions on ballot measures in June.

“When the preliminary report comes out, we’ll do another round of public outreach and we’ll have a formal public hearing as well,” Rayelynn Brandl, the commission’s chairwoman, said Wednesday.

The preliminary proposals are based on previous public input, including a months-long survey taken last year.

In it, nearly two-thirds of respondents think 12 commissioners is too many and 69% think a city-county manager overseeing day-to-day operations should be explored.

The nine-member Study Commission agreed in November to pursue such ballot measures, then subcommittees hammered out more detailed proposals that could go before voters.

Under one, a city manager — in Butte-Silver Bow’s case a “city-county manager” — would replace an elected chief executive and oversee daily operations, departments and their directors and most of the county’s 500-plus employees.

The council would vote to appoint the city-county manager, hiring the person “solely on the basis of education and experience in the accepted competencies and practices of local government management.”

The person could come from other places in Montana or other states but must maintain residency within Butte-Silver Bow during the entire term.

The council could fire the city-county manager by a majority vote “with or without cause.” But the person could insist on hearing stated reasons, getting a chance to respond in writing and a having public hearing before another council vote on termination.

Another proposal would reduce council seats from 12 to five, with four of the commissioners elected by district to four-year terms. They would be paid, full-time positions, with salaries to be determined.

In a county-wide vote, residents would also elect a mayor. He or she would serve as presiding officer of the council and vote on all issues, effectively making it a five-member legislative body.

The mayor would have no administrative duties — all of those are handled by the city-county manager.

But the mayor would be recognized as head of the city-county government “for all ceremonial purposes and by the governor for purposes of military law, and would exercise contracts, deeds and other documents.”

Many things would not change.

Among them, local races would remain nonpartisan so candidates would not be identified as Republicans or Democrats or members of other political parties. And the council, including the mayor, could not give orders to county employees.

A separate group of Study Commission members is still exploring issues related to firefighters. Nearly 90% of survey respondents said they’re aware of conflicts between paid and volunteer fire departments in Butte-Silver Bow.

The commission has taken in months of input from citizens, volunteer firefighters and paid firefighters, but crafting reforms for residents to vote on is a tall task.

There are conflicts between local charter provisions and state law that might be hard to overcome, and there are complexities involving funding and taxes, training, volunteer district boundaries, equipment, insurance and other matters.

But a subcommittee could still recommend possible reforms via ballot initiatives in the coming days.

The commission next meets at 5 p.m. Monday, Jan. 26, in council chambers of the Butte-Silver Bow Courthouse.