Butte Silver Bow Council of Commissioners Meeting - August 28, 2025
Butte Silver Bow Council of Commissioners Meeting - August 28, 2025
The Council of Commissioners met on August 28, 2025, to address a light agenda centered on the fiscal year 2026 budget, including proposed rate increases for Metro Sewer and solid waste collection, and to consider several property and communications items. The meeting featured a detailed budget amendment presentation by Finance Director Karen Hassler and saw one formal vote on a land communication.
Public Hearings
- Communication 2025-370 (FY2026 Budget): The public hearing was continued. Finance Director Karen Hassler noted that the proposed Metro Sewer user rate increase is 3% and the solid waste collection fee increase is 20%. No members of the public spoke for or against. The hearing remains open pending the adoption of the final budget at a special meeting on September 2, 2025.
- Communication 2025-371 (Metro Sewer User Rate): The public hearing was continued with no public testimony. It will remain open until the budget adoption date.
- Communication 2025-372 (Solid Waste Collection Fee): The public hearing was continued with no public testimony. It will remain open until the budget adoption date.
Discussion Items
- Budget Amendments (Communication 2025-373): Director Hassler presented amendments to the FY2026 budget, including:
- $250,000 in a special budget for the water division to track costs related to a potential water contamination event, with expectation of reimbursement from Montana Resources.
- Decreases in URA District #2 ($576,632) and its debt service fund ($97,265) due to school district levy receipts.
- A $60,000 transfer from the local option marijuana tax fund to the HART grant to maintain mental health services in the detention center.
- Total budget for FY2026 is $178,032,300, with a countywide mill value of $91,928. Commissioners asked clarifying questions about the reimbursement fund, the mill value, and the economic development line item.
- Communications Held in Abeyance: Several communications were held pending further reports or the budget passage:
- Comm 2025-249 (land purchase at 17 Tullomore Street) – awaiting Land Sales Committee report.
- Comm 2025-370, 371, 372, 373 – pending budget adoption.
- Comm 2025-386 (library annual report presentation) – moved to September 24, 2025.
- Comm 2025-394 (parking garage recreation) – awaiting insurance policy update from petitioner.
- Comm 2025-427 (land purchase at Maryland and Second) – awaiting Land Sales Committee report.
Key Outcomes
- Communication 2025-318 (Cory Biggers land purchase): The council voted 11-0 to note and place the communication on file, cross-referencing it with Communication 2025-424.
- Special meeting scheduled for September 2, 2025, at 5:30 PM for adoption of the FY2026 final budget.
- Public hearings on budget, sewer rate, and solid waste rates remain open until that special meeting.
Meeting Transcript
Can I please ask the commissioners to all check in? Commissioner Fisher, Commissioner Healy. Okay. Would the clerk do a roll call, please? One presiding ten present, one absent. Okay. Please let the record reflect that Commissioner Anderson is excused from tonight's meeting. Moving on to the prayer and the pledge, I would ask Commissioner Walker to lead us in that. Moving on on the agenda, I'll move to public comment on any items that are on tonight's agenda. If there's a member of the public that would like to speak on any item that is on tonight's agenda, now would be the time to do so. I would ask that you keep your comments to three minutes or less, and I do have the timer up here to indicate that. If there's any member of the public, now would be your your opportunity. Okay. Seeing none, I'll move on to report of the chair. Uh the one thing that I have to report is uh Mike Smith from the Montana Standard contacted me today, and they are looking for updated photos of the commissioners. And so they are going to have a photographer come up to the council floor next on September 10th before the meeting. If the commissioner is willing to, um, they will they will take your picture and you will have a new photograph of yourself. So I just wanted to announce that they will be up here to take um pictures if you are willing and able to do so. Uh moving on to section one bid openings, public hearings and/or presentations. Uh the presentation for tonight, communication number 2025-386. Julie Bushmaker, Butte Silver Bow Public Library Chairperson requesting Council of Commissioners' authorization to schedule a presentation on August 27th, 2025 to have Steph Johnson, Butte Silver Bow Library Director give an update on the annual report for the Butte Silver Bow Public Library. They did ask that we move this presentation to be September the 24th. So that presentation will not be happening tonight, but we will add it to a future agenda on the 24th of September. Moving on to public hearings, we do have three of them. These are a continuation that we've had the last several weeks. Um they are number one, communication 2025 370. Karen Hassler, or Finance and Budget Director requesting Council of Commissioners' authorization to schedule a presentation on August 6, 2025 agenda to make a presentation on the fiscal year 2026 budget. I would ask the county attorney if we did have publications for these public hearings. Chairman Morgan, yes, we had uh approved the publication. Okay. So that is for communication number 370, 371, and 372. So at this time I will open the public hearing unless there is a staff report update from Miss Hassler on this communication. Thank you, Chairman Morgan. Um, members of council for the record, I'm Karen Hassler, Finance and Budget Director for Butte Silver Bow. Um real report. I do have some updated amendments to the budget along with the resource and requirement schedule that we can discuss later. Um but as far as the public hearing goes, we're still discussing the Metro sewer proposed increase of three percent this evening as well as the landfill um solid waste collection fee increase of 20 percent. Okay. Thank you. So at this time, unless there's any questions, I would ask for any proponents on communication 370. Second call for proponents. Third and final call for proponents. If you'd please state your name and address for the record. Ready for us, 2000 Roberts Avenue. I am a proponent of this. Thank you. Thank you. Third and final call for the proponents. Seeing none, I'll ask for opponents. Second call for opponents, third and final call for opponents.
openpublica.com