Vol

Vol. 31 No. 8 AUGUST 2002

HIGHLIGHTS—INSIDE THIS ISSUE

ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2

P.I.L.T. for FY 2003 3

9-1-1 STATUS REPORT 4

HELP WITH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 6

DIRECTORY UPDATES 7

STATE BALLOT MEASURES 8

WEED INFORMATION 10

SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE SESSION

Beginning August 5, the 2002 Special Session is expected to last two weeks. Some legislative committees began hearing proposals July 24, ten days before the opening of the Special Session. The House and Senate Taxation Committees and the House Appropriation and Senate Finance Committees held individual and joint sessions to consider bills which had already been introduced. Introduced bills which are of interest to county government include:

HB 9 To reduce general fund shortfall through elimination of RIT weed transfer and RIT interest

sponsored by Senator John Cobb, Augusta

Waiting in the wings are un-introduced bills which would affect counties:

LC 0028 Assessment for TANF jobs and employment services

LC 0039 To delay for two years the portion of federal mineral royalty payable to counties

LC 0072 To revise the business equipment tax

LC 0080 Severance tax on coal bed methane

LC 0086 To authorize use of highway funds for motor vehicle division

Of special concern to local government is the protection of HB 124, the revisions of laws governing local government and state revenue collection and allocation passed in the 2001 Session.

In the call for the Special Session, Governor Judy Martz directed the Legislature to consider action limited to the following subjects:

1. Legislation approving fund balance transfers as submitted by Office of Budget and Program Planning

2. Legislation reducing general fund expenditures, including general fund expenditures

exempted in 17-7-140 (MCA), HB2 or any other appropriation bill, statutory appropriation or language appropriation

3. Legislation reducing non-general fund appropriations and non-budgeted transfers, when the reduction will increase the general fund balance and any necessary statutory amendments to effectuate the legislative reductions

4. Legislation reducing the general fund shortfall in revenue

5. Legislation amending HB 41 and SB 495 to provide for a guarantee account in the

state special revenue fund.

ANNUAL CONFERENCE AT BIG SKY

SEPTEMBER 22-25

The 93rd Annual Conference begins on Sunday, September 22, with the traditional President’s Reception and Banquet at 6:00 pm in the Gallatin/Madison Room at Huntley Lodge. The host for the Conference is Madison County; the co-host is Gallatin County. The Conference will continue through Wednesday, ending with the Officers’ Installation Luncheon.

The Opening General Session on Monday will include annual reports, review of resolutions and the call for officer nominations. Presentations about NACo Internet University Program and District Court assumption will be included.

Meetings of special groups will conclude the day:

JPA and JPIA Insurance Pools

BOS Work Force Investment Consortium

Urban Counties

Hard Rock Mining Counties

Oil, Gas and Coal Counties.

The Tuesday morning agenda features meetings of all ten MACo Committees, followed by their reports at a general session. “Grow Your Nest Egg” is to be the main presentation. The afternoon includes two tracks of workshops.

The first track presents a choice among: Rules for Lobbying

Personnel Issues

Intergovernmental Transfers.

The second group includes: Legislative Lobbying

Contemporary Issues

TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families).

A second selection of special groups will meet following the workshops:

Reservation Counties

Six-County Fort Peck Lake Group

Coalition of Forest Counties.

On Wednesday, the General Session will focus on legislative resolutions and the election of officers. The Installation Luncheon concludes the conference.

Additional items during the conference include a Prayer Breakfast and an open session on health insurance issues with the Joint Powers Trustees on Monday. The MACo Board of Directors will meet on Sunday and Wednesday.

Some of the speakers invited to the Conference include:

Karen Miller, NACo President-Elect, Boone County, Missouri

Judy Martz, Governor of Montana

Karla Gray, Chief Justice, Montana Supreme Court

Don Hargrove, Montana State Senator, Belgrade

Payment In Lieu of Taxes (P.I.L.T.)

Fiscal Year 2002-2003

Anaconda-Deer Lodge	$221,332	197,219
Beaverhead	$502,724	2,047,829
Big Horn	$48,148	41,434
Blaine	$358,310	453,106
Broadwater	$325,315	282,537
Butte-Silver Bow	$256,609	233,632
Carbon	$541,960	572,524
Carter	$99,002	594,642
Cascade	$236,641	215,467
Chouteau	$181,126	157,892
Custer	$389,742	334,095
Daniels	$233	200
Dawson	$75,341	63,960
Fallon	$80,287	115,901
Fergus	$557,567	486,084
Flathead	$1,441,781	2,440,181
Gallatin	$815,683	703,199
Garfield	$101,396	814,977
Glacier	$473,847	401,496
Golden Valley	$34,930	31,537
Granite	$125,143	703,947
Hill	$56,430	47,790
Jefferson	$501,736	555,697
Judith Basin	$152,810	308,427
Lake	$175,103	155,444
Lewis and Clark	$1,187,404	1,070,978
Liberty	$39,490	33,656
Lincoln	$281,797	1,748,177

Madison	$457,383	1,052,173
McCone	$154,437	273,745
Meagher	$107,187	483,883
Mineral	$189,797	642,654
Missoula	$740,216	711,563
Musselshell	$82,895	87,517
Park	$723,202	945,492
Petroleum	$39,084	335,040
Phillips	$244,702	1,382,944
Pondera	$116,819	107,919
Powder River	$131,131	594,815
Powell	$427,143	720,108
Prairie	$69,150	411,364
Ravalli	$1,282,827	1,109,623
Richland	$62,076	54,194
Roosevelt	$4,820	4,284
Rosebud	$384,326	329,949
Sanders	$147,452	914,740
Sheridan	$2,106	1,781
Stillwater	$220,596	191,880
Sweet Grass	$275,850	303,397
Teton	$312,686	284,568
Toole	$53,313	45,579
Treasure	$877	748
Valley	$480,083	1,122,308
Wheatland	$71,330	65,924
Wibaux	$30,973	26,995
Yellowstone	$89,540	77,952

MONTANA ENHANCED 9-1-1 PROJECT:

STATUS REPORT

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Fifth Report and Order 01-351 states that 9-1-1 must be accessible to all people by September 11, 2002. In most areas, citizens have either basic or enhanced 9-1-1service from phones in their homes or workplaces. With Basic 9-1-1, a call-taker/dispatcher in the local public safety answering point (PSAP), or 9-1-1 center, answers the call. The emergency and its location are communicated by voice. With Enhanced 9-1-1 (E9-1-1), the local 9-1-1 center has equipment and database information that allows the call-taker to see the caller's phone number and address on a display. This allows faster emergency dispatch, even if the callers are unable to communicate where they are or what the emergency is.

However, when 9-1-1 calls are made from wireless phones, the calls may not be routed to the closest 9-1-1 center, and the call-taker doesn't receive the callback phone numbers or the location of the callers.

Current E9-1-1 Services

Butte-Silver Bow County Carter/Fallon/Prairie/Wibaux Cos.

Cascade County Daniels County

Gallatin County Lewis & Clark County

Meagher County Roosevelt County

Sheridan County Valley County

Yellowstone County

Approved E9-1-1 Plans

Beaverhead County: Nothing has been done since the plan was approved; new sheriff is not sure of addressing project status; no implementation date is set.

Carbon County: Project underway—has addressing contract; put up new repeater site to improve radio communications; implementation is two years out.

Chouteau County: Trunks in; Triangle & 3 Rivers are testing trunks.

Flathead County: Equipment RFP has been issued; in process of selecting equipment; MSAG is complete, using Intrados™ database; addressing is complete, estimated date of implementation is mid to late summer.

Glacier County: Has addressing contract with Terra Incognito and project is near completion; no contract for database; no E9-1-1 equipment purchased, estimates implementation to be at least 18 months.

Granite County: Hired MaPS™, Inc. to do mapping; sheriff says they will be ready to procure equipment in about a year and estimated at least 2 years until implementation.

Jefferson County: Addressing complete; issued equipment RFP.

Lake County: In early stages of developing on-premise database; want to hire a project manager; need to do equipment RFP; no implementation date set.

Madison County: Choosing vendor to complete addressing; E9-1-1 equipment purchased from 3 Rivers in place; estimated 18 months to implementation.

Mineral County: Addressing almost complete; funds are growing.

Missoula County: MSAG with Qwest; equipment RFP estimated implementation in summer.

Musselshell County: Rejected three equipment proposals due to unsuitability, reissued RFP; mapping and addressing complete; investigating whether off-site or on-site database would best suit their needs; estimated implementation in September.

Pondera County: Working with postal service to convert existing addressing to new 9-1-1 addressing; MSAG is built and in process of establishing emergency service zones and refining MSAG accordingly; hired 9-1-1 consultant for equipment/PSAP needs; implementation projected for December.

Ravalli County: Working on maps and addressing.

Sanders County: Addressing will be completed in summer; equipment RFP was issued; estimated implementation 06/03.

Stillwater County: Working on MSAG; hired Baseline Technologies to assist in procuring equipment; having difficulty with one of the independent telephone companies; implementation is projected for year end 2002.

Teton County: Addressing complete; has E9-1-1 equipment; need telephone lines; estimated summer 2002 implementation.

Toole County: Contracted with MAPS to complete addressing; has Motorola E9-1-1 equipment in place; estimated implementation date 12/03.

Tri-County 911 (Fergus, Judith Basin and Petroleum): Completing addressing and setting plans to purchase equipment, including signs for rural roads.

MaPS™ has submitted Enhanced 9-1-1 plans for:

Wheatland / Golden Valley Counties and Powell County.

ELECTION AFTERMATH

Lake County: Incumbent Commissioner Mike Hutchin won a three-way race for the Republican nomination for his County Commission seat. The Democrat candidate did not live in the Commission district and withdrew. After the primary, the County Democrat Central Committee nominated the second-place Republican candidate for the General Election.

Blaine County: Following Federal Court opinions that the current at-large elections dilute the Indian vote, county commissioner districts were re-aligned. Election will be by district, not at-large. Plans for a special primary election for Commissioner Victor Miller’s seat were set. Miller does not live in the new district and cannot be a candidate.

On July 8, the County Commission agreed to appeal the decision, because “voters, who have chosen not to vote in Blaine County, made informed decisions not to involve themselves in county government because it is largely irrelevant to them.”

Blaine County’s legal counsel is Mountain States Legal Foundation. Native Americans are represented by American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). July 10 Journal News-Opinion, Chinook

Fallon County: Incumbent Clerk and Recorder Mary Lee Deitz and Coroner Jon Stevenson are not candidates for re-election to their positions. MACo News did not list them in “Current County Officials not Running for Re-election.”

Beaverhead County Sheriff candidate, Rick Later, withdrew as an Independent candidate, because he had also been listed on the Primary ballot for a Republican Precinct Committee seat. By Montana law, Independent candidates may not be associated with a political party for one year prior to election.

COUNTY NEWS

NOVEMBER BALLOT ISSUES

CARBON COUNTY is considering a dust abatement levy for county roads. The special levy would be on the November ballot.

GLACIER COUNTY voters are faced with two levies. One is for a bond issue to construct a new nursing home; the other is for a bond issue for a jail.

ANACONDA-DEER LODGE COUNTY is proposing a vote on a six-year tax for a new elevator system in the public library.

FWP WEED CONTROL FUNDS

MADISON, GALLATIN, BUTTE-SILVER BOW and BEAVERHEAD COUNTIES have had significant decreases in the Fish,Wildlife and Parks budgets for weed control on fishing access sites. Madison County’s budget decreased from $2,400 to $800; Beaverhead County decreased from $1,100 to $800; Gallatin and Butte-Silver Bow both decreased from $600 to $400.

ROAD AGREEMENT

TOOLE COUNTY, after a 20-year dispute, agreed to a contract with Montana Department of Transportation for repair and maintenance of Potter Road. The four-mile stretch will be leveled and filled with county equipment; chip-coat, sealing, painting and signing will be done by the State.

AIRPORT INFLUENCE ZONE

RAVALLI COUNTY has proposed the maximum area (!0,000 feet from the runway) as an Airport Influence Area (AIA) around the county airport to control development for safety. Surrounding land owners are concerned with a possible decrease in property values.

INMATE MEDICAL CARE

YELLOWSTONE COUNTY must pay for medical care for jail inmates, even those with pre-existing medical conditions, according to a U.S. Constitution due process clause interpreted by Montana Assistant Attorney General Chris Tweeten. Inmates with medical bills include temporary Federal prisoners and inmates from other counties.

FLOOD PLAIN MAPS

LEWIS AND CLARK COUNTY adopted flood plain regulations based on maps it believes are incorrect. County officials had failed to comment on FEMA maps by the deadline. The oversight left a situation of adopting the inaccurate maps and potentially forcing some people to buy flood insurance who may not need it, or don’t adopt the maps and have at least 88 families deprived of the flood insurance they have already bought. Residents are working to develop more detailed and accurate maps to present to the Denver FEMA office.

MUSEUM DISPLAY ITEMS

RAVALLI COUNTY is being sued to seek damages for items loaned to the County Museum that have not been returned after requested by the family. The display room was dismantled and the items were stored. The family charges the museum with breach of contract and failure to properly care for the items loaned.

JAILS

Both TETON COUNTY and LINCOLN COUNTY have recently approved budgets for planning new jails.

MOSQUITOES

FLATHEAD COUNTY’s plans for aerial spraying of unusual hordes of mosquitoes caused controversy. Potential harm to humans, honeybees and organic farms countered the desire for outdoor recreation and concerns for spread of disease. Petitions for a county mosquito district are circulating.

IMPACT FEES

MISSOULA COUNTY, in coordination with Missoula, is looking for a way to generate funds from construction of new buildings to cover added costs for police, parks and public services. Concerns center around double taxation, longtime vs new residents, affects on low-income housing, and possible dampening of growth.

GALLATIN COUNTY is in litigation over its impact fees because of improper government qualifications.

Does our county need help with

Information Technology?

Submitted by Mary Sexton, Teton County, MACo IT Committee Chair

We’re bidding a new software program for accounting. The vendors should give us all the answers, shouldn’t they?

Our computers are five years old. Do we need new ones?

A customer wants to pay his fees on-line with a credit card. How can we receive payment on-line ?

Now that we all use the Internet, how do we supervise employee use of e-mail and the Internet?

These are just a few general questions commissioners and county officials might have regarding IT. (And, no, the answers aren’t at the bottom of the page upside down!) But an IT Coordinator at MACo will be able to supply responses.

At the MACo annual conference in September, counties will be considering a resolution which will increase county dues to help fund an Information Technology (IT) Coordinator for MACo members. Half of the position will be funded by the State, the other half by MACo with the hope that the MACo part of the position will be self-funded within two years. A description of the position was handed out at the spring District meetings and will be available at the meetings in July and August. After reviewing concerns of counties, small and large, as well as input from MACITA, the IT Committee developed the proposal. Since a dues increase must be voted on by the membership, the funding of the IT position will be on the agenda at the Big Sky convention.

Here are more questions that an IT Coordinator might help answer!

· How do we know that a software contract is beneficial for the county? An IT Coordinator can establish contracts, review contracts, and save money for counties. The Coordinator can also act as a liaison to make State contracts available to counties.

· Do we need extra policies for use of information technology? An IT Coordinator can develop model policies tailored to county needs, saving time and liability exposure for counties.

· How do I know which software and desktop packages best suit our needs? An IT Coordinator can advise counties on standards, reliability, and cost. The Coordinator can also assist in pooled purchasing of hardware and software with the State.

· What are other counties doing for GASB 34 software? An IT Coordinator will be knowledgeable about local and State government software vendors and specific requirements. A Coordinator can work with counties and vendors in product development for certain needs.

· We have a county website; how can we improve it? An IT Coordinator can review the website, develop model designs, or supply lists of website developers. An IT Coordinator can assist counties with development of e-government processes.

· Can an IT Coordinator save counties money? You bet!

INSURANCE INSIGHTS

by Greg Jackson

Insurance Marketing

SUCCESSFUL RENEWALS

The JPIA property and liability pool renewed all Counties and Special Districts for the 2002-2003 policy year.

In the midst of this hard market, the JPIA program proved to be a stable, consistent program that all participants and members can rely on for comprehensive insurance coverage. The goal of the JPIA Trustees, this year and in the future, will continue to offer the pool members affordable and reliable coverage.

NEW JPIA MEMBERS:

The JPIA program is pleased to announce that Flathead County and Ravalli County have joined the JPIA pool effective July 1, 2002.

In addition, 37 Conservation Districts joined the pool as a result of the Montana Association of Conservation Districts program transferring coverage to the JPIA program. Other new additions include: Bitterroot Irrigation District and The Upper/ Lower Road Water Sewer District in Cascade County.

NRIS

“An Introduction to Montana Soils

Information”

Friday, August 23 3:00 pm

Montana State Library

Conference Room

(no charge)

Questions? 444-5356

MACo DIRECTORY

CHANGES / ADDITIONS

BEAVERHEAD County mailing address 2 S. Pacific CL4

Commission phone 683-3750

Attorney phone 683-3730

Clerk and Recorder phone 683-3720

Clerk of District Court phone 683-3725

Justice of Peace Hoerning 683-3755

Superintendent of Schools phone 683-3737

Sheriff phone 683-3700

FAX--Clerk/District Court 683-3728

FAX--Commissioners 683-3769

FAX--Sheriff 683-3705

Treasurer’s Address 102 N. Washington

Sheriff (temporary) Jay Hansen

CUSTER Clerk/Recorder (temporary) Kathy Pawlowski

FLATHEAD Administrative Officer Donald Avery

HILL Doug Kaercher 716 Summit Avenue

LIBERTY E-mail com@co.liberty.mt.us

MINERAL Clerk of District Court PO Box 129

MISSOULA Sheriff Mike McMeekin

PHILLIPS School Sup’t. (temporary) Terry Carlson

POWDER RIVER COUNTY E-mail kamende@co.powder-river.mt.us

RAVALLI Commission Office 215 South Fourth

Clerk and Recorder 215 South Fourth

Treasurer 215 South Fourth

Page 52 Dorsey & Whitney Billings Office closed

TETON COUNTY Clerk/Recorder (temporary) Diane Ameline

VALLEY COUNTY