OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Butte Silver Bow Study Commission Meeting - April 27, 2026

Council of Commissioners & CommitteesMonday, April 27, 2026
BodyButte Silver Bow, Montana
SessionCouncil of Commissioners & Committees
DateMonday, April 27, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:41:01

Transcript — Verbatim
3:07

I'll call the April twenty seventh meeting to order.

3:11

If we could have our Pledge of Allegiance and Prayer, please.

3:47

Okay.

3:47

So for the record, I have Lori Casey, Cindy Purdue Dolan, Ray Lynn Brandle, Dan Denihy, Chad Silk, Cindy Shaw, and Mary McCormick.

4:00

Public comment on any item not on the agenda.

4:02

We don't have anybody in audience today.

4:04

So oh, excuse me.

4:07

Is there any public comment on any item in the agenda?

4:10

I didn't see him.

4:11

His head was down.

4:13

Okay.

4:19

Okay.

4:48

Any opposed?

4:50

Motion carries.

4:51

Thank you.

4:52

I don't have correspondence or study commission update.

4:55

Other than a little bit of information for all of you.

5:00

Denih and I will be meeting with Director Hassler this Thursday to go through some of those questions that folks were asking us regarding possible costs and um budget.

5:10

Mr.

5:11

Anruth.

5:32

Yes.

5:33

Chairman Brandle emailed me after that.

5:36

I did some additional research.

5:37

I emailed Director Hasler, but I have not heard back yet.

5:40

Based on my research, and uh after corresponding with uh Deputy County Attorney Sean Peterson, I do not believe you need to attach fiscal notes to anything you're doing because what you're doing is not having a direct fiscal uh a direct impact on no excuse me.

6:00

It does not directly uh affect anything financially, such as a levy or implementing a tax.

6:07

It could possibly have a back end financial or fiscal issue, but uh that's to be determined based on how the budget is dealt with.

6:17

So state law specifically states that um under the under the code that anything that our state legislature does that has you know that's gonna deal with something financially speaking, such as passing a levy or a new tax or something like that.

6:30

Yes, there needs to be a fiscal note attached.

6:33

Here, I can't find where it says anywhere that we would be responsible for doing that, so I just wanted that to be very clear with the council.

6:40

I did email director Hassler to see whether or not she or had been involved in anything in the past with regards to that, so we can get an answer from her too.

6:48

But as far as I am concerned, uh we're not responsible for providing fiscal notes legally speaking.

6:55

Now, outside of that, if the council wishes to provide them or have Director Hassler comment on them, I think that's perfectly fine too.

7:04

Thank you, Mr.

7:05

Anruth.

7:06

Um so the nature of our conversation that I reached out with Karen to discuss, or excuse me, Director Hassler was to discuss was some of those questions that people had.

7:15

You know, do we have budget for this?

7:17

Is there you know uh how much would this cost us?

7:20

Now we can't determine that because we do not set the budget, and I stated that very clearly with the council of commissioners, and I did have a follow-up conversation with Commissioner Thatcher, who you know called to clarify her questions regarding you know the fiscal note business.

7:36

And we discussed that it's not our authority to set budget, that it's her authority to set budget, and we could only conjecture as to how much it might cost.

7:45

Um but we have done our background research.

7:47

We know where the salary surveys are, we know about how much it costs for a commissioner, we know how much it costs approximately for a city manager.

7:55

Um and so I think it's fair to say we this is our pie in the sky estimate.

8:02

Um, but I don't know if we want to, you know, that's just for us to get information for our background pieces for this deliberations in our body.

8:09

Whether or not we want to bring that information forward, I think we need to have a conversation about that.

8:14

Um I feel very cautious because I do not want to overpromise or underdeliver to the voters.

8:22

And like I said, since this is not our budget authority, I I just feel cautious.

8:30

Mr.

8:30

Denehee.

8:31

Madam Chair, members of the commission.

8:33

We'll have a fairly good idea on Thursday with uh Ms.

8:37

Hassler's sort of um giving us a what she would think that the possible implications of what our options are going to be.

8:48

But again, um I'm 100% in agreement with the chair.

8:55

That is a guess that if we're not right.

9:00

We're really trying to, or if we're not right, people will think that we were trying to one way or the other not answer that question thoroughly and to the best of our ability, and we don't know.

9:12

We will have a better idea again on Thursday what it will be like or what the possible fiscal impacts of our decisions and the vote of the people will be.

9:23

Again, this is not our vote.

9:25

If people believe that the changes that we are recommending recommending to them is important, if they want to see a change, then they will see a change and they will either you know pay for it or not pay for it.

9:40

Um if the entire issues are let's do nothing because it costs too much, then that's their decision.

9:46

But again, we'll have a better idea after we talk to Karen uh on Thursday to give a report back to this commission on exactly what it could be and some options out there or some I wouldn't even call an option Karen's best uh available recommendations back to us regarding what this could mean in terms of fiscal impact for the for buttons of rebo.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Engagement███████████████████████████████31%
Procedural██████████████████████████26%
Government Structure█████████████████17%
Personnel Matters██████████████14%
Budget Equity Analysis██████████10%
Fire Services██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Butte Silver Bow Study Commission Meeting - April 27, 2026

The Butte Silver Bow Study Commission met on April 27, 2026, to discuss legal advice on fiscal notes, review feedback from public listening sessions, analyze survey results, and plan the upcoming public hearing and decision-making timeline. The commission also debated the structure of future government, including the number of commissioners and whether they should be full-time or part-time.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were made during the public comment period.

Discussion Items

  • Fiscal Note Requirement: County Attorney Anruth clarified that state law does not require fiscal notes for the commission's recommendations, as they do not directly impose taxes or levies. The chair expressed caution about providing cost estimates, as the commission does not set the budget. Several members agreed that attaching fiscal notes could be misleading.
  • Listening Session Feedback: Members reported strong public engagement, with 10 participants in Melrose, 37 at Northwestern Energy, 18 at Ramsey, and 50 at Butte Brewing. Additionally, 456 online survey responses were received, with more paper copies pending. The chair noted increased public trust and positive feedback on the preliminary report.
  • Government Structure Options: Commissioner Dunnehy raised the need for clarity on whether a chief executive or city manager form would eliminate the mayor position. He also discussed the number of commissioners (3, 4, or 5) and whether they should be full-time or part-time. Survey data showed 53.3% preferred four commissioners and one mayor, while 34.8% were unsure. The county attorney advised that the commission must narrow options to avoid voter confusion.
  • Fire Services Ballot Options: Commissioner Dolan expressed concern that fire service options might not appear on the ballot. The county attorney clarified that voters must be given the option to retain the current charter language. The commission must vote to include each option.
  • Survey Closure: After discussion, the commission voted to close the survey on May 7, 2026, to allow time for analysis before the May 11 meeting.
  • Public Hearing Format: The commission decided to allow up to five minutes per speaker and to have one summary slide instead of a full presentation. Boards from open houses will be available. ADA equipment will be ensured.
  • Timeline: Ballot language must be finalized by June 15 to allow review by the Secretary of State. The commission will hold deliberations on May 11 and possibly May 12 or 18.
  • Full-Time vs. Part-Time Commissioners: Debate centered on whether the charter should specify full-time or leave it to the council. Some members argued full-time ensures engagement, while others preferred flexibility. No decision was made.

Key Outcomes

  • Motion to close survey on May 7 passed unanimously.
  • Public hearing set for May 4, 2026, at 5:30 PM in this location.
  • Next meeting scheduled for May 11, 2026, for deliberations with potential additional meetings on May 12 or 18.
  • Motion to adjourn passed.

Meeting Transcript

I'll call the April twenty seventh meeting to order. If we could have our Pledge of Allegiance and Prayer, please. Okay. So for the record, I have Lori Casey, Cindy Purdue Dolan, Ray Lynn Brandle, Dan Denihy, Chad Silk, Cindy Shaw, and Mary McCormick. Public comment on any item not on the agenda. We don't have anybody in audience today. So oh, excuse me. Is there any public comment on any item in the agenda? I didn't see him. His head was down. Okay. Okay. Any opposed? Motion carries. Thank you. I don't have correspondence or study commission update. Other than a little bit of information for all of you. Denih and I will be meeting with Director Hassler this Thursday to go through some of those questions that folks were asking us regarding possible costs and um budget. Mr. Anruth. Yes. Chairman Brandle emailed me after that. I did some additional research. I emailed Director Hasler, but I have not heard back yet. Based on my research, and uh after corresponding with uh Deputy County Attorney Sean Peterson, I do not believe you need to attach fiscal notes to anything you're doing because what you're doing is not having a direct fiscal uh a direct impact on no excuse me. It does not directly uh affect anything financially, such as a levy or implementing a tax. It could possibly have a back end financial or fiscal issue, but uh that's to be determined based on how the budget is dealt with. So state law specifically states that um under the under the code that anything that our state legislature does that has you know that's gonna deal with something financially speaking, such as passing a levy or a new tax or something like that. Yes, there needs to be a fiscal note attached. Here, I can't find where it says anywhere that we would be responsible for doing that, so I just wanted that to be very clear with the council. I did email director Hassler to see whether or not she or had been involved in anything in the past with regards to that, so we can get an answer from her too. But as far as I am concerned, uh we're not responsible for providing fiscal notes legally speaking. Now, outside of that, if the council wishes to provide them or have Director Hassler comment on them, I think that's perfectly fine too. Thank you, Mr. Anruth. Um so the nature of our conversation that I reached out with Karen to discuss, or excuse me, Director Hassler was to discuss was some of those questions that people had. You know, do we have budget for this? Is there you know uh how much would this cost us? Now we can't determine that because we do not set the budget, and I stated that very clearly with the council of commissioners, and I did have a follow-up conversation with Commissioner Thatcher, who you know called to clarify her questions regarding you know the fiscal note business. And we discussed that it's not our authority to set budget, that it's her authority to set budget, and we could only conjecture as to how much it might cost. Um but we have done our background research. We know where the salary surveys are, we know about how much it costs for a commissioner, we know how much it costs approximately for a city manager. Um and so I think it's fair to say we this is our pie in the sky estimate. Um, but I don't know if we want to, you know, that's just for us to get information for our background pieces for this deliberations in our body. Whether or not we want to bring that information forward, I think we need to have a conversation about that. Um I feel very cautious because I do not want to overpromise or underdeliver to the voters. And like I said, since this is not our budget authority, I I just feel cautious. Mr. Denehee. Madam Chair, members of the commission.

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