Butte-Silver Bow Local Government Study Commission Meeting – October 6, 2025
Butte-Silver Bow Local Government Study Commission Meeting – October 6, 2025
The commission convened to review fire district mapping progress, hear legal guidance on ballot proposal limits, discuss public survey results and next steps, and identify additional research needed on key topics such as number of commissioners, forensic auditing, and fire service structures. The meeting included public comments, approval of prior minutes, and a motion to close the public survey by October 31, 2025.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Mr. Badrab (2601 Grand Avenue) questioned the purpose of the commission's op-eds and suggested issuing news releases after each meeting to better inform the public.
- John Reardon (1107 Iowa Avenue) expressed strong support for the study commission's work, advocated for the proposed replacement government system, and stressed the need for increased public transparency and participation.
- Mr. Badrab (second comment) raised a point of procedure regarding public comment rules, citing Montana law and Butte-Silver Bow precedent. He requested that the commission place a discussion of public comment procedures on the next agenda to clarify when the public may participate in discussions on agenda items.
Discussion Items
- Fire District Mapping Update: GIS is reviewing prior fire district mapping data from the retired Dan, meeting weekly with Lee Sullivan (firefighter/paramedic). There are 92 council descriptions to verify, and mapping data may be incomplete or inaccurate. Commissioner Chad Silk suggested involving a volunteer firefighter in the Thursday GIS meetings to help ensure accuracy.
- County Attorney Matt Enruth – Ballot Proposal Limits: Mr. Enruth presented a memorandum explaining that, under current Montana law (MCA 7-3-151, 7-3-192), the commission may submit only three ballot questions to voters, each with no more than two sub-options (alternatives). He noted that the 2006 study commission placed seven issues on the ballot, but the law may have changed. A complete new charter could be drafted, but the procedural requirements for presenting it to voters remain unclear. Commissioner Cindy Purdue Dolan and others emphasized the need for legal clarity on whether seven questions were permissible in 2006 and why the limit now appears to be three.
- Public Survey & Outreach: Dr. Shana Adams reported that about 338 survey responses have been collected (goal: 375 for statistical significance). The commission voted (7-1, with Dolan opposed) to close the survey on October 31, 2025, with two weeks for review, then begin drafting a preliminary report due by end of November. Additional surveys were discussed to gauge public opinion on specific topics after receiving legal guidance.
- Op-Ed Strategy: Commissioner Matt Stappen proposed focusing the next op-ed on encouraging public participation and explaining the survey, rather than identifying top issues, pending clarity on ballot limits. The commission agreed.
- Community Councils, Forensic Audit, and Other Research Needs: Discussion on community councils was deferred until legal guidance is received. Commissioners raised the need for presentations or data on: a forensic audit (vs. current independent audit), the Anaconda fire department model, the sheriff-coroner position, number of commissioners based on population (Dan Clark from MSU), MĀKO research on commissioner salaries, and the city manager system (Tim Burton, Andy Hunthausen). The chair directed staff to reach out to these contacts and schedule presentations, with Commissioner Dan Denehee volunteering to contact Tim Burton.
- Commissioner Chad Silk’s Potential Conflict: Commissioner Silk asked to discuss concerns raised in public letters about his dual role as a career firefighter and study commission member. Commissioner Ben Thielen and Matt Stappen expressed confidence in his impartiality. The item was deferred to the next meeting’s agenda.
Key Outcomes
- Motion passed: Close the public survey on October 31, 2025, with results to be reviewed over two weeks before drafting the preliminary report (vote: 7-1, with Dolan opposed).
- Direction to staff: Contact speakers and gather data on forensic auditing, Anaconda fire/sheriff-coroner models, commissioner structures in other counties, and city manager examples. Schedule these presentations for upcoming meetings.
- Deferral: Discussion of community councils and detailed charter amendment options held until the County Attorney provides a definitive opinion on the number of permissible ballot questions and the feasibility of drafting a new charter.
- Next meeting: Scheduled for October 20, 2025; the commission will consider adjusting the meeting frequency (weekly vs. biweekly) to meet the November preliminary report deadline.
- Public Input: The commission acknowledged the need to clarify public comment procedures and will consider placing that item on a future agenda.
Meeting Transcript
Meeting of the October 6th Study Commission to order, please. May we have a roll call? Uh Rayland Brandle here. Lori Casey here. Dan Denehee. Mary McCormick. Excused. Cindy Purdue Dolan. Cindy Shaw, excused. Chad Silk. Here. Matt Stappen. I believe he's on his way. Okay. And Ben Thielen. Can we have our Pledge of Allegiance and prayer, please? Under God. Liberty and Justice for All. All right, thank you. So our first item, public comment on any item on the agenda. All right, everybody 2601 Grand Avenue. Just a couple questions. You keep talking about an op-ed. I kind of wondered what it was all about. And then I wondered why you're not putting out news releases after each meeting. Because you're covering subjects that are new and different each time. Thank you, Mr. Badrab. Any other public comment on any item not on the agenda or on the agenda. Good evening. My name is John Reardon, 1107 Iowa Avenue. And I just thought I'd uh I've been following you guys quite closely, and first of all, I just want to uh thank you for and uh and appreciate you for the work that you guys are doing because it's a large task. There's some doors that haven't been open for quite a while. Uh the process has been in i in butte for years and years, you know. Uh I remember I don't want to get into it, but years ago the big council of commissioners usually started at the drift in and then they come up and do some work up here at the courthouse and all that stuff. So but right now we have a pretty full plate with the people and the growth and all that. And I just wanted to state that I I really support the the system that we're looking at, the replacement system, because something's got to change. I mean, Butte was a small quaint community and all that. It grew, it went down, it grew, and then now here we are, we're really growing really fast. Um to have attention, support for the people that we have out there. And I think what this would do, this process would open up the public interest of the voting citizens. They would have more transparency, and I'm not saying there isn't transparency now, but it would give them more of a chance to participate in all that, and I think that that would more or less bring the government back together where the right the right hand knew the left hand, and then the commissioners would know what to do with their people in their district. Um I looked, there's a couple people around here that have been on the commission and all that. It's probably the craziest job I've ever had. For the fact that number one, I was retired and had some time, and number two is just that uh the situations that you run in to that people don't understand and don't know the process how to get it. Uh I noticed on the agenda and all that uh there was a deal about community councils. I don't know if I'm allowed to speak at that. I think that would help help a lot getting more people involved in this situation. But uh I just mainly can't came up to support you guys. Uh like I said, it isn't an easy job.
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