95th ANNUAL
CONFERENCE
MONTANA
ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES
Missoula, Montana
MONDAY,
SEPTEMBER 27
GENERAL SESSION
Carol Brooker, MACo President, Sanders County
The
95TH annual Conference of the Montana Association of Counties opened
at 9:00 am. President Brooker led the
delegates in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Kristie Ostlund, Billings, sang the National Anthem. President Brooker introduced the head table:
Bill Kennedy, First Vice
President, Yellowstone County
Doug Kaercher, Second Vice
President, Hill County
Bill Nyby, Fiscal Officer
(Finance Man), Sheridan County
Jean Curtiss, Urban
County Representative, Missoula County
John Prinkki,
Parliamentarian, Carbon County
Rev.
Tom Krantz, Church of the Nazarene, conducted the Invocation.
“May we see in every
calamity an opportunity and not give way to the pessimist that sees in every
opportunity a calamity. When we are
wrong, make us willing to change. When
we are right, make us easy to live with.
Help us to show others what America is really about—an America that
wants fair play, honest feelings, straight talk, real freedom and faith in
God. Make us to see that this cannot be
done as long as we are content to be coupon clippers on the original investment
made by our forefathers. May we have
love for our fellowmen and something to deposit on which young people of
tomorrow can draw interest. Help us
when we want to do the right thing but know not what it is. Help us most when we know perfectly well
what we ought to do and do not want to do it.
Teach us that liberty is not only to be loved, but also to be
lived. Make us see that our liberty is
not the right to do as we please but the opportunity to please, to do what is
right. Teach us to listen to the
prompting of God’s spirit and thus save us from floundering in indecision that
wastes time, subtracts from our peace, belies our efficiency and multiplies our
troubles.”
Mike Kadas, Mayor of Missoula, welcomed the delegates and encouraged the Montana League of Cities and Towns and MACo to work together to develop and protect the flexibility to address local problems in local ways. Commissioner Bill Kennedy, Yellowstone County, responded with gratitude for the hospitality.
William Marcus, Director of
the Broadcast Department, U of M, presented an historic video about long-time
Montanans and described the work done by public broadcasting in Montana.
Special Slide Show and Music
Presentation
Doug Kaercher, Hill County
We had a large delegation going to NACo this year in
Maricopa County, Arizona. This slide
show is to show what we do at NACo Conferences. And rather than just a slide show, I’m going to do “Name that
Tune” with each slide. The tunes are
all on Beatles albums. I actually have
a prize for each one of the slides.”
(Slide show, music, prizes and laughter ensued.)
ROLL CALL
Bill Nyby, MACo Fiscal
Officer, Sheridan County
After the call of the roll, Nyby announced quorum present
to conduct business.
MEMORIAL RESOLUTION
Bill Carey, Host, Missoula County
The seconded motion to adopt the Memorial Resolution passed by
unanimous consent.
RESOLUTION IN MEMORIAM
WHEREAS,
the members of the Montana Association of Counties, with great sorrow and a
deep sense of loss, wish to remember and honor those members who have been
taken by death since the last annual convention of our Association; and
WHEREAS,
each of these county commissioners has rendered innumerable public services to
his or her respective county, to the State of Montana, and to the people thereof;
and
WHEREAS,
the absence of these persons is keenly felt as a great personal loss to their
families, friends and colleagues,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT
RESOLVED by the Montana Association of Counties in convention duly assembled in
Missoula, Montana, this 27th day of September 2004, that the Association does
hereby pay tribute to the memory of Commissioners
Jerry Allen, Ravalli County
Kathleen Alley, Dawson
County
Eugene Iverson, Richland
County
Earl Knight, Powell County
April Milroy, Garfield
County
Alvin Torske, Big Horn
County
Bob Kester, Hill County
and on behalf of
its members and the citizens of the State of Montana, does hereby express
gratitude for their achievements and contributions to the public good of
their counties and to Montana.
PRESENTATION OF RESOLUTIONS
Mike Murray, Chair, Lewis
and Clark County
“If your county wishes to have a resolution segregated
so it may be discussed, rather than slam-dunk approved, I need you to yell out
today or on Wednesday.
The first resolutions are “high” priority. A high priority resolution means that it
affects every county in the State of Montana.”
The high priorities are:
2003-4 County Attorney Pay Increase
2004-2 Increased water levels at Fort Peck Lake
2004-6 Workforce Funding Governance
2004-7 Soft Drink Tax
2004-8 Historic Road right of way Policy
2004-9 Legal Notice Advertising
2004-11 Clarifying Fences attached to Bridges
2004-12 Support Clawback Provisions in Tax Law
2004-13 Support MEDA Legislative Proposals
2004-14 Local Option Fuel Tax
2004-16 Rural Improvement District Notice
2004-24 MDOT to maintain all State secondary roads
2004-27 De-listing Gray Wolf
2004-28 Uniform Zoning
2004-29 Repeal credit for incarceration
2004-30 County Official Bonding
2004-31 Water Rights Adjudication Funding
2004-32 Victim Witness Surcharge
2004-33 Election Administrator Compensation
2004-34 Indirect Cost Allocations
The medium priorities are:
2003-2 Exemption to Nepotism Rules
2004-1 Motor Home County Processing Fee
2004-4 Optional voting on Road Levies
2004-5 Montana Land Information Act
2004-10 Airport Land Use Act
The low priorities are:
2004-17 Oppose Changes in Bentonite Mine RoyaltyTaxes
2004-18 Civil Attorney Legislation
2004-19 Household Fee for Conservation Districts
2004-20 Remove Opt-out Provision for Park Districts
2004-21 Amend Zoning Law for Mineral Extraction
2004-23 Household Fee for Parks and Recreation
2004-26 Subdivision Regulations—Parklands
“Do not pass” recommendations:
2003-1 Utility Rate Crisis
2003-3 State Lands Rights of Way
2004-3 Mosquito Control District Creation
2004-22 Allow Summary Reading of County Ordinances
2004-25 Amend Government Liability for Damages in Tort Claims
2004-15A Equitable PILT Distribution
(2004-15A replaces 2004-15. 2004-15 no longer exists.)
MACo Resolutions for re-affirmation
High priority:
2002-19 Communities as Focal Point for Mental Health Services
2002-24 Involuntary Commitment Expenses Paid by the State
2002-25 Mental Health Pre-Commitment Costs
2002-35 State Public Defender System
2000-25 Detention Costs for Department of Corrections Inmates
Low priority
2002-15 Exempt Levies Pledged Against Indebtedness
“Do not
pass” recommendation
2002-1 Wireless Communication Standardized Regulations
2002-20 Retain Control of Substance Abuse Funds
Delegates requested the following resolutions be segregated
for discussion:
High Priority
2003-4 County Attorney Pay
2004-7 Soft Drink Tax
2004-13 Support MEDA Legislative Proposals
2004-16 Rural Improvement District Notice
2004-24 MDOT to Maintain Secondary Roads
2004-31 Water Rights Adjudication Funding
2004-33 Election Administrator Compensation
Medium priority
2004-1 Motor Home County Processing Fee
2004-4 Optional Voting on Road Levies
2004-6 Montana Land Information Act
2004-21 Amend Zoning Law for Mineral Extraction
Do-not-pass recommendation
2003-3 State Lands Rights of Way
2004-3 Mosquito Control District Creation
2004-15A Equitable PILT Distribution
Re-affirmation, “do not
pass” recommendation
2002-21 Retain Control of Substance Abuse Funds
MACo
By Law Proposed Amendments
By Law change #1, which is to add past presidents to the MACo Board of Directors
By Law change #2 is the dues increase
By Law change #3 is one county moves out of District 5 to District 4—Chouteau County.
Carol Kienenberger, Phillips
County
Do we treat these changes the same as we do
resolutions—so if we want to discuss one separately we would ask to segregate
it?
Murray: No, each one will be discussed and voted on separately.
FISCAL REPORT and FY ’06 DUES PROPOSAL
Bill Nyby, MACo Fiscal
Officer, Sheridan County
FISCAL REPORT
The Fiscal Year 04 Audit was
presented at the Board of Directors meeting and the Board approved. All county dues revenue has been received
for FY 05 and the FY 05 budget is running along smoothly at the present time.
DUES PROPOSAL
On the back page of the dues
proposal is the PILT Assessment Proposal for FY 06. This proposal has been well presented at all the District
meetings.
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
Bill Kennedy, Yellowstone
County
In the last legislative
session, Senate Bill 370 (Title 7 Chapter 32 Part 22, Section 3) on prisoner
medical costs in your county jails was passed.
If you send an inmate from your county jail to the hospital, they will
bill you 70% or the Medicaid cost. Some
counties have said that they pay 100%.
That’s up to you, but you do have an opportunity to have a discount on
your bill. We have used this bill and
have saved us thousands of dollars in Yellowstone County.
Also in the new law, the hospital has to look for the
first provider, if they have other insurance.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S ANNUAL REPORT
Gordon Morris
This past year has been a very good year for the Montana
Association of Counties, particularly
because it has been such a pleasure to work with the Board of Directors and
with our MACo President Carol Brooker.
I’ve been acting as Executive Director since February of
1984. Every once in a while, I look
back and I gain a lot of confidence that MACo--over the course of that 20 years
with Board members and the presidents you’ve chosen--has moved forward in a
very sound, positive way.
When I was chosen as the Executive Director, we had 51
member counties, with only one urban county--Missoula. The others had formed their own coalition of
urban counties. It was a very divisive
era. It took approximately four years
before the urban counties came back into the Association. I don’t see that divisiveness today. I think we are much stronger as a
consequence of that.
Our accomplishments are many. Most of them can be attributed to the membership, the Board and
the leadership. In 1927, MACo had
resolutions to support state assumption of welfare. In 1947, MACo was speaking of state assumption of district
courts. Here we are—80 years later
almost--and we have state assumption of district courts and we have state
assumption of welfare. We struggled in
the early ‘80’s with property/casualty liability insurance. We now have a very viable self-insurance program. If you compare it with other state
association involvement, ours stands heads above. We continue to grow in membership in the property/casualty
liability program and we have a very viable, strong workers’ compensation
program. I think those are all assets
to the Association, assets that were imagined and dreamed of by county
commissioners.
About two weeks ago I spoke to the Local Government /
Education Interim Committee. They wanted a report on MACo’s legislative effort
for the coming session. I told them
that I was reporting based upon actions not yet taken by the Association,
because we would be going into our 95th annual convention in
Missoula. Somebody in the Committee
said, “Well, have you been there all 95 years?” I said, “No, but there are times that it feels like it.”
With that in mind, I want to advise the membership that I
have given the Board of Directors a letter dated August 16th
indicating that it is my intention to stay with the Association through June
2006. That allows the Board of
Directors time to make decisions as a consequence of that letter. I am assuming that the Board would advertise
the position in July, 2005, with the hope of filling the position by January
2006. I intend to seek to stay on until
the end of June, during the six-month transition period.
It’s a bit like golf.
In golf, you make the turn and you head for the home holes. I characterize that in terms of where I
am. I’ve made the turn and I’m headed
for the 18th hole.
I’m looking forward to the 2005 legislative session, this
being the 21st session I’ve been involved in (not to ignore all the
special sessions) and this being my last.
It’s been a tremendous pleasure and it’s going to be sort
of heart wrenching to step away from the position that I’ve held for 21
years. I thank everybody for that.
I do think that the Association today is stronger than
it’s ever been. We have more
involvement; we have more participation; we have good leadership. Everything about the Association is better
today that it was in 1984. You can all
be proud of the Association.
I’m going to be very involved over the course of the next
15 to 20 months. We have some very
ambitious plans. In brief, I’m working
on behalf of both the Insurance Trusts concerning bringing claims
administration in-house. My early
conclusion is that it makes sense from a financial perspective. Working with the Trustees, I’ll be putting
together a recommendation to present in November. They will make the decision.
We can’t accommodate this without some major changes in our building.