Hamilton to vote on change in form of government

By Michael Howell

The City of Hamilton’s Local Government Review Study Commission issued a final report in February that places a possible change in the form of government on the ballot in the June 7 Primary election.
The City’s local government study commission, formed in 2014, is composed of three voting members, Lynette Helgeland, Melvin Monson and Robert Smaus. City Planner and Special Projects Director Dennis Stranger serves as an ex-officio nonvoting member on the commission.
The report states that, after a year of work, the government study commission “concluded that a Self-Government Charter with an elected City Council-Mayor directing the City and a professional City Manager implementing the policies of the City Council is the form of government best suited to meet the present and future challenges facing the City. The provisions of the recommended Charter provide more local control and public access to the City government.”
The ballot will contain two options from which the voter will choose one:
– FOR adoption of the self-government charter with a council-manager  plan of government proposed for the City of Hamilton by a majority of the Hamilton Local Government Review Study Commission.
– FOR the existing council-mayor form of government.
The report details the following major provisions:
• City Charter – The recommended City Charter maintains the six-member City Council elected by the existing wards and includes a Mayor, elected at large, as a seventh voting member of the City Council. The Charter provides for a professional city manager appointed by the City Council to implement the policies and direction of the City Council. The Charter also establishes self-governing powers to allow for more local control over the City government than the minimum provided the voters by state law. Forty-two Montana cities and towns have adopted self-governing powers. The proposed Charter places limitations on some aspects of City government including a specific strict limitation on taxation. If the voters adopt it, the Charter shall become effective January 4, 2018.
The Study Commission found that 32 municipalities in Montana, including Pinesdale and Darby in Ravalli County, have adopted charters which confer self-governing powers to the City rather than the general powers granted by the state legislature. Ten more municipalities have adopted self-governing powers without charters.
Twelve municipalities in Montana have adopted the “Council-Manager” form of government, utilizing a professional City Manager to manage the day-to-day activities of the City and implement the policies and directives of the City Council. These cities are Belgrade, Billings,  Bozeman,  Columbia  Falls, Great Falls, Helena, Kalispell, Lewistown, Livingston, Polson, West Yellowstone and Whitefish
• Limits on Compensation of the City Council and Mayor – The Charter limits the compensation of the City Council to the average of similar size municipalities in Montana. The Mayor will be compensated $100 per month more than the other members of the City Council.
The Study Commission found that the compensation of the Hamilton City Council far exceeds council pay in similar-sized Montana cities. A survey of 16 similar-sized Montana municipalities conducted by the City Clerk in September 2015 reported an average pay for each City Councilperson of $272.01 per month compared to $810.06 per month in Hamilton. Reducing the compensation of the Mayor and Council to the average of other similar-sized municipalities, as required in the proposed Charter, would reduce the expense of the Mayor and Council by approximately $59,600 annually.
• City Manager Qualifications and Contract – The Charter requires the City Manager to be hired based on merit (i.e. qualifications and experience) only and engaged by contract. The contract shall not exceed two years in duration unless specifically extended or renewed by a majority vote of the Council. The compensation of the City Manager shall be set by the City Council and this cost will be partially offset by the proposed $59,600 cost savings realized by reducing  Mayor and Council pay to that of other similar-sized municipalities and eliminating the necessity of hiring an administrative assistant to the Mayor.
• Cost Analysis Provided for Voter – Having a City Manager under the proposed Charter form of government could cost less than compensating both the mayor and an administrative assistant under the current form of government. Tables comparing the compensation costs under the current and proposed forms are included in the Final Report so voters can see the potential financial impact of the proposed changes.
• Review of Existing Ordinances and Structure – The Charter requires that the City Council review, and where necessary revise or repeal, current operational ordinances, resolutions, policies and rules to provide for consistency with the Charter and state law.
• Agendas and Public Input – The Charter assures the public’s access to the City Council and maintains the ability of the Council to place items on the City Council agenda on behalf of the public. This is the same as the current City policy and allows both the Manager and Council to place items on the agenda.
Study Commission member Robert Smaus wrote a minority opinion disagreeing with a number of the findings and recommendations contained in the Study Commission’s Final Report.
“I do not believe, based on the information gathered by the Study Commission, that a complete change in our form of government to a Charter form with ManagerICouncil plan is necessary. There are less drastic alternatives available to address the few minor issues raised in the public input and personnel interview process. Additionally, the radical changes proposed are potentially expensive to the citizens of Hamilton,” wrote Smaus.
He based this opinion on the following:
There was little indication from the citizenry who engaged in the voter review process that a change in the form of government was necessary. Of the 30 public meetings and hearings held thus far, less than 30 citizens attended. Only 67 people responded to the questionnaire, which was available both online and handed out to members of the public at several meetings. As of the date of the final report, there were only four comments posted online regarding the three newspaper articles and two letters to the editor published in the local newspapers concerning this study. From the fact that there have been only limited concerns expressed by the public, and the majority of responses that were received indicate overall satisfaction by City residents, the minority concludes that the current form of government is satisfactory in the City. Of those who attended meetings, most spoke out. Of that number, only one was in favor of the recommended change. The others were quite adamant that the change to a city manager was a bad idea.
“This seriously bolsters my conclusion,” wrote Smaus.
Smaus writes that there is no indication of sufficient change in the community to make the proposed form successful now, noting the lack of concerns expressed by the citizens and general satisfaction with services acknowledged by other Commission members. Current Study Commission members and a former mayor mentioned past conflict within Hamilton’s city government, and the majority findings in the 2005 Hamilton Study Commission Final Report referenced concerns that former administrative assistants had “too much power for non-elected official.”
“With so little public concern expressed over the current performance of our City Government, and growth within our community having slowed considerably compared to decades past, change to our form of government just for the sake of change is not a good idea,” Smaus wrote.
According to Smaus’ report, the current mayor has been involved with Hamilton City government for many years and he currently sees no need to hire an administrative assistant. The City currently employs six (6) department heads and 5 of the 6 department heads earn between $62,000 and $73,000 annually. These department heads are hired by merit, trained and employed to resolve any minor issues that occur, and shoulder the responsibility for their decisions. Any additional direction requested by the department heads could be accomplished by increasing the elected mayor’s time, or the mayor could employ an administrative assistant if needed. Either of these two options is available without changing the City’s current form of government.
Hamilton’s mayor currently makes $25,374 (wage plus a health insurance stipend) per year. The mayor works part time 15-20 hours a week. If increased to a full-time position at the current pay, the mayor would earn roughly $44,000 per year. The current city manager in Polson makes $82,500 annually and others in the state range up to $137,000. Increasing the time of the democratically elected mayor would be more cost-effective than adding a city manager contracted by the City Council, Smaus wrote.
The claim of how a City Manager will be more efficient has yet to be explained sufficiently, according to Smaus. One comment was that there are a number of projects that are greatly needed by the community. Without further discussion as to the nature of these projects, and considering the overall satisfaction of the citizens who responded to the questionnaire regarding the current delivery of services the City is providing, the need to hire and pay yet another professional to supervise city projects is questionable, write Smaus.
Only 12 incorporated cities in the State of Montana have a Manager/Council plan of government (less than 10%). Most of these communities are larger in population than Hamilton, some by a substantial margin. 112 of the 115 remaining incorporated cities use the Mayor/Council form currently existing in Hamilton. This is the most prevalent form of governance for smaller cities in Montana. Smaus opines that changing this form would remove the public’s ability to directly choose their chief executive by popular vote, replacing that elected executive with an unelected administrator hired by contract.
“Fundamentally, our government is to be “By the People.” Who, after all, approves their government in the first place? Comments from the citizens for whom the government works should carry at least as much weight in the decision-making process as the opinions of employees of the government in this and other communities. The information gathered by the Study Commission regarding the manager form of government from the comparably sized community of Polson should therefore be balanced against the comments of several citizens at our public meetings that they had lived in communities with managers and such managers could become politically controversial or be less responsive to the citizens,” Smaus wrote.
“Any requests by City employees for better communication and supervision can easily be remedied by minor adjustments within the current government. Those changes can be made at little or no expense to the taxpayers, and do not come close to needing the drastic changes that have been recommended by the rest of the Commission. A city manager has not been shown to be more efficient or desired by the people, and I find the recommendation to completely alter the current form of government to be unnecessary,” Smaus concludes.
If the new alternative Charter form of government is approved by the voters the first primary election for officers, if required, would be held on September 12, 2017; the first general election for officers would be held on November 7, 2017; and the proposed Charter would become effective January 4, 2018.
Copies of the Final Report are available at the office of the Hamilton City Clerk at City Hall, 223 South 2nd Street, Hamilton, Montana 59840. Copies are also available at the Ravalli County Clerk and Recorder, Bitterroot Valley Chamber of Commerce, and Bitterroot Public Library. The Final Report is also available electronically on the City of Hamilton’s website at http://cityofhamilton.net and Facebook page. If you would  like a copy mailed to you, contact the City Clerk at 363-2101, extension 30.