Don't Like Your Local Government? Vote to Change It.

Jefferson County and its cities of Boulder and Whitehall have had the same forms of government in place for as long as anyone can remember.

But on June 5, voters will have the opportunity to decide if they’d like to contemplate something different.

Montana’s state constitution requires that every 10 years, all municipalities and counties ask voters to choose whether to establish a commission to study their current form of government and consider alternatives. 

It is a uniquely Montanan mandate, intended to give citizens the power to decide if their local government is appropriately structured. Montana is, in fact, the only U.S. state with such a mandate — although similar laws exist in New Zealand, Scotland, and other countries.

Boulder’s City Council and Whitehall’s Town Council approved the required ballot initiatives at their respective meetings on Jan. 16. The County Commission plans to take up a similar measure in February. 

The initiatives don’t constitute a commitment to change anything. They simply let voters decide to appoint a commission charged with completing a study. If voters say yes, at least three study commissioners are elected in the following general election — this year, on November 5.

The commission then has up to two years to do its work. It must hold at least one public meeting to disseminate information and invite comment and then another to present its findings. 

Ultimately, the commission can either decide on no change to the existing government form or recommend something new. That recommendation can entail an amendment to the current plan of government or a new plan. The commission also can recommend the consolidation of a county and municipality or the merger of multiple counties. Any recommendation would go before voters.

The process “opens up degrees of freedom” for voters, observed Boulder City Council President Drew Dawson. “If you don’t like [the current form of government], put your money where your mouth is, and we’ll study it.”

“The money” is literal: For a study to go forward, voters must approve a mill levy to support the expenses of the commission. Estimates of potential expenses vary and ultimately are up to the county or municipality; the Local Government Center at Montana State University, which advises governments on the study process, has described a sample budget of $17,000 for studies by smaller municipalities, but it notes that actual expenses depend on local needs and expectations.

Whitehall defeated, by 474-319, a study commission proposal in 1976, the original round, that would have amended but not changed its existing commission form of government. Since then, no proposal in Whitehall has emerged from a study commission to become a ballot initiative.

In 2014, the last local government review cycle, voters in the county, Boulder, and Whitehall all opted not to pursue a study commission. At the county level, 57% of voters were against the initiative; 52% of Whitehall voters and 60% of Boulder voters opposed study initiatives, according to county Clerk and Recorder Ginger Kunz.

In previous cycles, however, voters sometimes have approved studies, according to records kept by the Local Government Center. 

In 2004, Boulder’s voters approved a study commission that, in turn, recommended that the city change to a charter form, which allows a government somewhat greater flexibility and self-determination. Ultimately, voters narrowly decided against the change.

A decade earlier, in 1994, voters in Jefferson County opted for a study commission that proposed non-partisan elections, combining the sheriff’s and coroner’s offices, and consolidating the offices of the county attorney and public administrator. Voters approved those changes but opted not to combine the county superintendent of schools with the Clerk and Recorder’s office. 

Statewide, according to the Local Government Center, the number of study commissions has declined over time. In 2014, voters in just 11 of 56 counties voted for commissions, and none of those studies produced recommendations for change. Among municipalities in 2014, 49 supported study commissions; only five produced ballot proposals for changes, down from 28 in 2006 — and none of those passed.

Besides the charter model, there are five essential forms of local government described by state law: Jefferson County and most other counties operate under a Commission government, wherein commissioners, elected to four-year terms, collectively head the county’s legislative, executive, and administrative functions. 

In the “Presiding Officer” version, a chair elected by the commissioners is the head of the local government. 

Boulder and Whitehall, like most Montana municipalities, both have a Council-Executive model. City councilors and a mayor are elected officials, with the mayor given oversight over most city departments. 

An alternative to the Council-Executive model is the Council-Manager form, which requires the city council to appoint a paid manager, an administrative officer responsible to the council for the government’s function.

The Town Meeting government, by contrast, consists of an assembly of qualified electors from a community, which decides on rules, resolutions, and ordinances. The Town Meeting is available only to communities of fewer than 2,000 people.