Brekke talks merits of Havre having a city manager

Havre City Council President Andrew Brekke led a Town Hall meeting Monday night on the potential merits of Havre moving to a council-manager form of government, a question that will be on this year's general election ballot.

Under this form of government most of the responsibilities of Havre's mayor would be taken over by a city manager who is hired by the city council, a manager who would handle the day-to-day operations of city government while the council handles policy making.

The council has held a number of public meetings on the possibility of Havre moving to a council-manager form of government and has been almost universally supportive of the idea.

Brekke said, as cities become bigger and their administration more complex, having day-to-day operations handled by a city manager, professionals who generally train specifically for city administration, typically having a master's degree in public administration, can significantly increase a city's efficiency.

Under the proposed change, Havre would still have a mayor, but it would largely be a figurehead position, a person who would run city council meetings and could offer their perspective and advice, but would only vote in the event of a tie and would act primarily as an advocate for the city.

The mayor would also still appoint boards, but beyond that their role is ceremonial, with all other responsibilities passing to the manager, who would be managed by the council, which would have final say over any policy initiatives the manager proposes.

This topic has come up several times in the last few decades, usually tied together with a proposal to switch Havre to a charter government.

The combined proposals never have passed, but the charter government proposal, put on the ballot without the manager proposal included, was passed by the voters of Havre in 2020.

Brekke and other council members at Monday's Town Hall said they feel that the approval of the charter government, and the fact that naysayers' fears about that haven't come to pass, has earned them some trust that they hope will result in this referendum passing.

"Several study commissions, at least three of the last four, have recommended doing this in conjunction with self-governing powers," Brekke said.

He said Havre has had a run of three mayors who were well-versed in matters of local government operation, but that may not always be the case, so it seems like a good idea to hire a professional under the council's watch to handle the day-to-day administration of government, a position he said the current Mayor Doug Kaercher has absolutely no interest in.

Brekke said the city has more than 100 employees and a budget of $45 million, more than many other cities in Montana that have adopted managers and this change, while it has the potential to significantly streamline government, doesn't fundamentally change how the three branches of government function.

He said there is no change at all to the judicial branch and the only change to the legislative chance being that the council takes responsibility for hiring and supervising the manager, an admittedly big responsibility, but one they're ready to take on.

He said many have raised concerns over the affordability of hiring a city manager, and while such a manager would have a high salary, likely between $90,000 and $125,000, the position combines the city's finance director and mayor salaries and benefits, so it's not a huge expense.

Brekke said that considering the savings managers typically bring to local governments by reducing inefficiencies and streamlining operations this change will almost certainly save money.

He said city managers often come into their positions with fresh perspectives and see inefficiencies that people like him don't see because they've been in local government for as long as they have, and many cities see immediate and effective changes made by managers.

He said managers typically get heavily involved in community groups and organizations, in part to get a feel for the communities they serve, so they typically pick up on the character of their communities quickly while offering an outsider perspective.

He said the position could also take over the job of Human Resources, which city managers typically have training in, and Havre can't afford to make its own department.

City Clerk Liz McIntosh said HR is complex and very different from HR in the private sector, and having a manager well-versed in the subject would be huge for the city.

"People say we can't afford to hire a city manager," McIntosh said. "I say we can't afford not to."

Brekke agreed, saying he's been a business owner for some time, and the way the public and private sector operate couldn't be more different, sharing little in common besides having employees and a budget.

He and McIntosh also talked about the potential advantages of having a manager well-versed in union negotiations, which would make the process of dealing with the city's four unions much easier, though final authority to ratify agreements would still lie with the council.

Havre Fire Chief Nathan Courtnage said he and his union fellows are looking forward to that possibility.

He said nationwide, 25 percent of cities with over 2,500 people have managers, and 58 percent of those with 10,000 or more have managers.

In Montana, he said, of the 13 cities with managers seven are larger than Havre and 6 are smaller, so adopting a council manager form of government would not be remotely unusual for a city of their size.

Brekke said the International City/County Manager Association, which provides a network of support to city and county managers along with the communities they serve, has data indicating that positions like this have a 60 percent placement rate within the first year, so Havre could see a manager come in fairly soon after the change.

"People ask 'Who would come to Havre?' Well, who would have thought that Jerome Souers would come and be head football coach at MSU-Northern?" he asked.

He said the ICMA also holds managers to ethical standards including that they be non-political, no donations, no yard signs, no supporting candidates etc.

Brekke said this could be appealing to the people of Havre, though he personally thinks requiring city managers to remain apolitical is a violation of free speech.

He said the council can tailor the requirements they'd be looking for in a manager to fit their needs and if things don't work out with said manager they can always find another.

Typically, he said, city managers operate with one-year contracts, but the council can always take action to terminate a manager in the event that there were serious problems with them.

Brekke said cities moving back to a council-mayor government after changing to council-manager is almost unheard of in Montana, but in the worst-case scenario, where it doesn't end up working out, they can always change back during the next election cycle, which is every two years.

He said he understands that as a proponent of the change he is painting a rosy picture of the change, but he and his colleagues know there are going to be growing pains and issues to deal with, but they still think this is the right way to go for Havre.

Among those colleagues was fellow council member Lindsey Ratliff, who said Havre is often a few years behind on making changes like this and it would be good to get ahead of things this time.

"A 21st-century government for a 21st-century city," she said.

Audience member Dave Brewer said he supports the change and thinks it's a step in the right direction for Havre.

Brewer is a Democrat running for Montana Senate District 14 against incumbent Republican Sen. Russ Tempel of Chester.