Local government expert to explain charter governments

The City of Havre is hosting a speaker to discuss what a charter government is and what it does Thursday, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. at City Hall.

The Havre City Council Ordinance Committee has requested voters decide whether Havre should change to a charter form of government, which will be on this year’s ballot in November.

Havre City Council Ordinance Committee member Karen Swenson said the meeting is an opportunity for the public to learn about charters.

 Ordinance Committee member Lindsey Ratliff said Montana State University Local Government Center Director Dan Clark will be speaking. He will talk and educate the community about the proposed ballot initiative of adopting self-governing powers through a charter for the city of Havre.

He came down to Havre last year, she said, for a special improvement districts discussion.

“A charter is different from what we have now,” Ratliff said. “The current government we have now, basically, the only powers we have in the city of Havre are ones that are granted to us by the Legislature in Helena, whereas if we had a charter we would be able to do anything that isn’t explicitly prohibited by the Legislature.”

She said Clark will also discuss why a charter would work for the city of Havre, and about other cities across Montana that have a charter form of government and how it’s been benefiting those municipalities.

The difference between self-governing powers and general powers is that  “municipal government may acquire self-government powers only with the approval of a majority of the municipal electors voting on the question,” Montana State University Extension Handbook says.

It says the question may be presented to the local electorate directly as a ballot proposal to adopt a municipal charter, which, if approved by the voters, automatically confers self-government powers upon the municipality.

A self-governing community can enact more proposals than a general government community, basically able to take actions as long as they are not prohibited by state law.

“I think for Havre to adopt a self-governing charter, it gives the city a lot more flexibility in addressing the needs of our community,” Ratliff said. “In the past, there’s been issues that have come up that we weren’t able to address because it wasn’t granted through the Legislature. It doesn’t not give the city more power, it gives us more flexibility.”

Swenson said the charter form of  government allows cities to enact any laws that do not violate state statutes and it does not change how ordinances are enacted — two readings and public input are still required.

“This proposal does not change anything else,” she said. “The form of government, mayor and council, will remain the same. The  charter won’t require any extra costs for the taxpayer.”

There isn’t a single government entity that is going to get more power through this, Ratliff said, adding that it just gives more flexibility to better serve the community through various avenues.

The last time the ordinance committee proposed a charter was in 2016.

“I think that when the last initiative failed I think it’s because a lot of people were uneasy or unfamiliar with the form of government changing because when they proposed the charter in 2016, they also proposed a city manager form of government,” she said. “I don’t think people were comfortable enough with that idea and so the reason we put on this year’s ballot and by itself is because it’s a very popular more across the state of Montana.”

More than 30 cities across the state have adopted charters in the 40 years, she said.

The meeting is set to inform voters before they received their ballots, which will be mailed out Friday, Oct. 9.

“We thought it was important to get him before that so that the public could ask questions of him,” Ratliff said.

If approved by the voters, the charter will go into effect Jan. 1.

Participants will also be able to attend the meeting virtually through GoToMeeting through their computer tablet or smartphone at https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/842265725 .

People can also dial in using their phone. For supported devices, people can tap a one-touch number, listed below, to join instantly.

United States: +1 (571) 317-3122 

One-touch: tel:+15713173122, 842265725#

Access Code: 842-265-725