Butte-Silver Bow Study Commission Meeting - February 9, 2026
Butte-Silver Bow Study Commission Meeting - February 9, 2026
The Butte-Silver Bow Study Commission met on February 9, 2026, to discuss and vote on options for the future of volunteer fire departments in the charter. The main agenda item was the fire department working group update, with extensive debate on three proposed options. The commission voted to advance options 1 and 3 to the working group for further development and to eliminate option 2.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the minutes from the February 2 meeting (motion by Ms. Shaw, second by Mr. Dennehy; unanimous voice vote).
Public Comments & Testimony
- No members of the audience were present; public comment was skipped.
Discussion Items
- Correspondence: An email from John Sorich was mentioned but not yet received by the chair; follow-up with Ms. Adams was directed.
- Fire Department Working Group Update: The commission reviewed a document from the volunteer fire departments outlining their proposed transition plan under Option 1 (removal from charter). Key discussion points included:
- The distinction between "rural fire districts" and "volunteer fire departments" in the charter and state law. County Attorney Matthew Enruth agreed to provide a memorandum clarifying the legal definitions.
- Option 1: Remove all volunteer fire department language from the charter, leaving them subject to state law as rural fire districts. Supporters argued it gives volunteers independence and control over their future; opponents (including Commissioner Silk, a paid firefighter) raised concerns about operational cohesion, public safety, and potential for multiple tax levies without guaranteed service.
- Option 2: A hybrid approach with detailed charter language specifying structure and authority. Many commissioners viewed this as overly complex and unlikely to succeed due to the need for extensive prescriptive details.
- Option 3: Revise charter language to clarify the authority of the paid fire director over volunteers, include a volunteer fire coordinator, and allow future adjustments via ordinance. County Attorney Enruth opined this option is least likely to be litigated, as it corrects existing ambiguity.
- Legal opinions: County Attorney Enruth stated that Option 1 could lead to litigation over ownership and taxing authority, while Option 3 clarifies the county's authority as intended by state law. He noted that the legal issue is simple but the public and interpersonal dynamics have prevented resolution for 40 years.
- Commissioner Dolan emphasized the need for the volunteers to present their case directly to the commission, while Commissioner Steppen and others stressed evaluating financial sustainability and transition plans before placing options on the ballot.
Key Outcomes
- Vote on options to advance: Commissioner McCormick moved to advance Option 1 (remove volunteers from charter) and Option 3 (revised charter language with authority to paid fire director) to the working group, and to eliminate Option 2. The motion was seconded by Ms. Shaw.
- After discussion, the motion carried unanimously. The working group is tasked with returning draft charter language for both options by the next meeting on February 23, 2026.
- The commission also agreed to request additional information from both supporters of Option 1 (volunteers) and Option 3 (career department) to provide the public with a balanced view of pros and cons.
- Next meeting scheduled: February 23, 2026, in council chambers. A special appearance on Party Line (February 25) is to be arranged via email.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, I'll call the February 9th study commission meeting to order. And if we can have roll call, we have Lori Casey here. Cindy Purdue Dolan Ben Thielen will be late, Matt Steppen, Raylan Brandle, Dan Denehee, Chad Silk, Cindy Shaw, and Mary McCormick. And if we could have our Pledge of Allegiance and PR. Okay, so public comment on any item on the agenda. We don't have any members in the audience tonight, and so we'll skip from four and five. There are no comments. Moving on to approval of minutes of the meeting held February 2. Ms. Shaw. Thank you, Madam Chair. I I would uh move to approve the minutes from the uh February meeting. Is there a second? I have a motion from Sean, a second from Dennehy. Um the notes or the minutes. Um all those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Aye. Okay. Motion carries. Thank you, folks. All right, moving on to our correspondence and our study commission update. I understand there was an email from John Sorich. However, I did not receive that, so we'll follow up with um Ms. Adams to make sure it is shared with the commission and that we all have it in our inbox. My inbox was very clunky with a lot of things that were caught in a spam filter, so I'm curious if maybe it went there. But I will follow up with Ms. Adams to get that to us all. Any other correspondence? All right. So moving on to our fire department's working group update. Should the voters approve to remove them from the charter if that ballot issue goes to the charter. So I'll open that up for discussion, and if anybody from the fire districts um working group wants to chime in by all means. Um and then the other qualification I wanted to mention tonight is um in talking with um Jason Willoughby um the initial information that was sent to the fire group and then forwarded on to the whole study commission with language and then it had a lot of corrections or markouts. Um that uh because I know uh Dannehe had asked about you know is this an option four? And I got the clarification from the volunteers, it is not they don't want that considered to be an option for they have come back to say no, this is what they would like with option one and of the three that we're discussing. So I just wanted to make that clarification tonight as well to answer that question. Ms. Shah. Thank you, madam chair, and and thank you, Cindy, for that. And like we just spoke before the meeting, is that that uh red line language was considered chartered language changes, right? Okay, thanks. Other comments or concerns or things to talk about. Mr. Steppen. Thank you, madam chair. Um I have a question and I don't know who this question is to be directed to. I wish County Attorney Enruth was here because it might be directed at him. Understanding that this is meant to provide what the volunteers expected plan going forward under option one. The question that I have is tasks for rural fire districts.
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