Judge favors city manager for Havre

City Judge Virginia Seigel has recommended to the commission reviewing Havre's form of government that a city manager form of government be established.

That would be the best way to run the city government on a day-to-day basis, she said. And the manager would help the city to prepare a vision for its future.

Seigel is the latest city official to

appear before the review commission with ideas on how the city's form of government should be changed.

As she spoke Tuesday night, the panel's chair, Dave Brewer, pointed out

that many city officials said they were generally in favor of the idea but questioned whether the city could afford a manager.

"I wonder whether we can afford not to have one," the judge said.

She said the manager could help formulate a vision for the city of 20 years from today, she said.

She noted that every Class A city in Montana has a city manager except Havre.

She suggested that City Council members can rotate being mayor as some other cities, notably Bozeman, already do.

The judge touched on a variety of issues during her talk to the commission.

The commission has asked 12 questions of each department head who has spoken to the commission.

Seigel provided a written response and talked with members about her answers Tuesday night.

Commission members asked what she thought should be done for the city if cost did not have to be taken into consideration.

The size of her staff is substantially smaller than other cities of the same size, she said. The high crime rate in Havre should also mean her staff size should be increased, she said.

She cannot follow up on cases because her staff isn't as large as it should be, she said.

Criminals are more likely to get in trouble if there is no follow-up, she said.

The second most important thing to consider, she said, was repairs to the city's streets and infrastructure. As she spoke, voters were turning down a $30 million proposal to reconstruct streets.

She gave a detailed response to questions about preparations for emergencies.

If city hall has to be evacuated, she said, the court staff will meet at St. Jude Thaddeus Church, one block down the street, she said.

If city hall were unusable, she said, court would be held at the church. All court computer files are backed up each night in Helena, she said. She said if she had a computer, she could hook up to the Helena server and court could be back in session.

The study commission members will meet next with the eight members of Havre City Council Oct. 16,, then with Mayor Tim Solomon, Brewer said. Then they will begin to consider recommendations they may want to make.