Time to change the form of Havre city government

Editor,

At the time of writing this opinion, our next and last public hearing will be Nov. 1 at the City Hall chambers at 7 p.m.

First thing, I, as the chairman of the Local Government Review Commission, want to state that it was over a year before I felt this recommendation we’ve proposed in unanimous decision was the appropriate change to offer you, the voters, along with the charter.

In 1996, the last Havre Local Government Review Study Commission — Dorothy Gail Radar, chair, Robert W. Keeler and James P. O’Leary — studied and recommended nearly the same ballot language. It failed by almost a 2-to-1 vote — 1,578 existing government and 802 for the charter/manager. I include this information so you can see the consistency of where we were 20 years ago. The other major ballot issue was the county jail. I know as an owner of property in Havre what my taxes are, and I understand the “train-of-thought” when your wallet/checkbook is lying in the balance of how you vote.

The current commission isn’t responsible for how the new manager would be paid, but we did inquire during our interviews of the mayor, council and department heads on their thoughts. Several ideas and obviously none are worth the paper I’m scribing on now, but the mayor is currently paid $20,000 or more. Since the manager would be responsible for the budget and all reports the current city clerk position and whatever the pay is could be eliminated and the manager would absorb some duties that the current department heads are responsible for, such as discipline, hiring and firing and contract negotiations. Our understanding is in Montana all major cities have a manager form of government and none receive a salary of $200,000, and we were apprised that the salary would align more along the lines of $60,000 to $80,000. The manager and how they’d be paid and all terms would be incumbent on the current mayor and council to determine. The city would have to have their plan, if the issue passes, by July 1 and the new manager wouldn’t be hired until after Jan. 1, 2018.

At our hearings and meetings, the attendance was low and we, the commissioners went further and visited with the public in organizations meetings and just visiting with citizens on the street.

A recent letter to the editor reflected a negative view on the new proposed government form, but I can’t begin to express my hopes that the citizens of Havre give this ballot issue a considerable amount of thought.

We’ve determined in two years that we, the average citizen, are woefully untrained to run the local government without the aid of attorneys in certain cases. The city has been in several lawsuits in recent years and someone trained through appropriate governmen-level management courses could lead us through or negotiate agreeable terms without going down the legal path. It is time to change to the form of government that we believe can lead us into the future for years to come. I also want to recognize the commission of 1994-1996 for their vision way back then, and I feel we can bring this home not only in their memory but for the betterment of Havre, Montana.

Copies of the entire final report can be obtained at the city of Havre offices, 520 Fourth Street, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

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David H. Brewer is chair of the City of Havre Government Review Study Commission.