Our View - Is no one interested in serving the city?

It is an interesting time. People seem very interested in talking about what officials they like and who they don’t; what policies and proposals they like and what they don’t, and even sharing their own ideas on what should be done that hasn’t been proposed.

And yet no one is showing any interest in stepping up to help their fellow residents in Ward 2 and their community in general by doing precisely that, making the decisions for the city.

The seat in Ward 2 has been open since April 2 when alderman Brian Barrows resigned, saying he could not spare enough time from his duties as a pastor to adequately serve his constituents.

The City Council would appoint his replacement — if it could find anyone interested in taking the spot.

The seat also is up for election in the fall for the final two years of Barrows’ term. Anyone appointed to the seat will serve a term that finishes at the end of the year.

That may not seem like much, but having that representation is crucial for the ward and for the county.

If no one fills that slot, Ward 2, basically most of Highland Park, the city cemetery, Smithville and the area of Montana State University-Northern, will be short a vote for 10 months — two of which already have passed.

That means they will be short a voice both to discuss and to vote on issues — and the Havre City Council, while it may generally seem to be a thankless job, has to deal with what happens in the city.

Being short an alderman means missing a voice and vote on issues like should the city ask taxpayers if they will approve a tax levy increase, on issues with streets and sidewalks, on zoning decisions for neighborhoods, on whether a street should be closed to allow for a fair or street dance, on how the city should repair its Bullhook storm drainage system, what fees should be charged for services like water and sewer and whether people should be able to raise chickens in their neighborhood.

City Council makes the decisions on how things run in Havre — and if a ward does not have someone in an available seat, that ward is missing a voice in the decisions.

The entire city also misses out, because every person on the council brings their own ideas and perspectives and contributes to the discussions and descriptions.

The city also could miss out because missing a member means it is easier to be short of a quorum — with an open seat, if three council members miss a meeting, City Council cannot vote on anything.

The Havre Daily News hopes someone is willing to step up, at least through December, to take the position for Ward 2 on Havre City Council.