Vol. 31 No. 2
February 2002
EX PARTE COMMUNICATIONS CONTROVERSY
With Lewis and Clark County Commission
opening discussion on one-to-one communication with individual citizens, an
age-old question of open government vs. elected officials’ abilities to learn about
issues continues.
Lewis and Clark County has had formal
policy preventing any contact outside of a public setting between the
commissioners and people with decisions before the commission. Commissioners have not taken calls from
interested citizens who want to air their opinions and cannot talk about those
decisions with another commissioner unless they are in a public meeting. Defined as ex parte communications,
any oral or written conversations that take place outside of the normal public
process, with no public notice or notice to the other side of the issue,
violate the restriction.
On the one hand, it seems that being
polite and interested in citizen opinion would mean allowing the commissioners
to hear from interested individuals outside of public hearings. With increased contact, questions can be
answered earlier, concerns can be addressed and delays can be avoided. Commissioners could do research and ask
questions of people outside of courthouse staff.
On the other hand, such personal contact
smacks of back-room politics, with deals made behind the scenes, and public
hearings being mere formalities, as if
decisions had already been made beforehand.
Commission hearings are considered quasi
judicial, a gathering during which commissioners take evidence from
opposing parties and make decisions based on the evidence presented.
During a recent hearing in Lewis and
Clark County, which proposed to allow ex parte communication for quasi judicial
topics, the County Commission heard both sides. “We are at a huge disadvantage in Lewis and Clark County when we
can’t talk to people about what’s going on,” said Helena Regional Airport
Manager Ron Mercer. “I bristle at the
idea that there is some right of government to control my ability to contact
government officials,” said attorney Jim Sewell, representing three real estate
associations. “The real question is one
of freedom of speech and the right to talk to your elected officials,” he said. Representing MACo’s insurance programs,
attorney Norman Grosfield said, “This isn’t the good ol’ boys crew any more,
when people could go in and meet with the commissioners and get things
done. You have to be concerned about
litigation.”
Attorney Steve
Brown said, “When someone says they can explain something to you in private but
can’t do it in public, your nose should start twitching. I understand your concern about being
isolated, but I think it’s something you have to live with and respect.”
There appears to be few if any formal
policies in place around Montana. Some
county attorneys indicate that ex parte meetings happen all the time.
Cascade County Chief Civil Deputy
Attorney Dirk Sandefur doesn’t believe there’s a legal standard for a formal
ban. “If I could forbid it, I would;
but as it is, I strongly discourage it.
I tell the commissioners they need to avoid the appearance of
impropriety and if they can’t do that, I want them to disclose the contact and
make public the nature of the conversation.”
Yellowstone County Deputy Attorney Mark
English said that commissioners engage in ex parte contact all the time, much
to the consternation of his office.
“They eat lunch with people; they visit sites; and the public doesn’t
know what’s going on.”
Flathead County Attorney Thomas Esch
tells commissioners that ex parte communications may violate the State’s open
meeting law. “But they say they have an
obligation to speak with their constituents about matters that concern them. They
want to be open and accessible to the people who elected them.”
Gallatin County Attorney Marty Lambert
felt that from a practical standpoint, ex parte contact allows issues to
proceed in a more timely fashion. “My
commissioners are always available, at least as individuals. Everybody knows that while the door may be
open to him, the door is open to me, too.”
Sections taken from a series of articles by John Harrington
Helena Independent
Record staff writer
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FROM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
GORDON MORRIS
In October 2001, the MACo
Executive Committee and Vern Petersen, Chair of MACo Transportation Committee,
met with Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) Deputy Director Jim Currie
and Transportation Planning Division Administrator Pat Saindon to discuss
MACo’s ability to undertake a statewide Global Positioning System (GPS)
project. For this proposal, MACo would
contract to record all non-state maintained roads—specifically county roads.
MACo would employ ten two-person crews--driver and data collector. Response to this proposal was cautious and
was weighed with current county efforts such as 911. While MACo would be the “prime contractor,” the actual work would
be done by counties as subcontractors with MACo. Ten counties would be selected
from MACo districts to head up projects in each district, working with the
other counties.
There
have been two meetings with interested counties. A draft Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been prepared
between MDT and MACo. A second draft agreement has been presented to identify
the county participants and their respective responsibilities. On January 18th,
the following counties indicated their support and commitment to the project:
Rosebud, Flathead, Fergus, Stillwater, Madison, Glacier, McCone, Beaverhead,
Lewis & Clark, Hill and Missoula. There were several counties that were
absent from the meeting but may wish to participate: Toole, Cascade, Valley,
Fallon and Sanders. Some counties reserved their support until they could
further evaluate the project: Park,
Ravalli and Yellowstone.
To
illustrate, let’s consider MACo District 12. Madison and Beaverhead would head
the effort to gather the data in the six counties of the district. Madison and
Beaverhead would each employ data collectors, both of whom would attend a
two-day MDT workshop. They would agree
to their respective responsibilities for the other counties in the district.
The other four counties would contract to provide drivers. The head counties would provide the vehicle,
the equipment and the data collector.
The data-collecting county would be reimbursed at a rate of $11.10 per
mile of road, to cover all costs associated with the project (ie salaries and
per diem for data collector and driver, gas, etc.). In District 12 there are an estimated 3,132 miles of non-state
maintained roads, excluding Forest Service roads. Assuming an average speed for rural and urban driving of 30 miles
per hour, it would take approximately 104 hours of driving time, with transit
time from the workplace to the starting point requiring perhaps another 40 to
50 hours. This equates to three or four weeks to complete the job.
We
are working to finalize the MOU between MACo and MDT, as well as the memorandum
between MACo and the lead counties. A training workshop would be in March 2002,
with counties beginning the projects and completing January 31, 2003.
I would urge everyone to carefully evaluate the project
in terms of transportation data that could be seamlessly integrated with other
data. (I am repeating what I have been told, not what I know.)
NOTE: Midwinter Meeting is just around the corner and a full agenda is planned. I hope to see you all in Kalispell. I acknowledge that you are asked to make a considerable commitment of time to be there for the full week, but I am confident that you will find it worth your while. Till then, “Happy trails to each of you,” as Roy and Dale would say.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
February
5 Waste water
and GIS; MACo Conference Room; 9:30 am
8 Association
of Planners; MACo Conference Room; 11:00
11-15 MACo
Midwinter Meeting; Kalispell
15 District Court Council
20 Growth
Policy Forum
21 Dept.
Revenue Stakeholders; Capitol 152; 10:00 am
21 State
Drought Committee; Metcalf Bldg.; 9:30 am
March
1-5 NACo Legislative Conference, Washington
DC
7 Montana
Geographic Information Council; TBA
15 District Court Council
MACo CALENDAR
CORRECTIONS
APRIL Road Supervisors’ Conference
April 2 - 5
SEPTEMBER MACo Annual Conference
September 22-25
...no need to travel from Big Sky to
Glendive on Sunday night. All four
days will be held at Big Sky.
FROM ASSISTANT
DIRECTOR
HAROLD BLATTIE
It is wonderful to have the opportunity to serve you in my new
capacity of MACo Assistant Director. I
have an unwavering conviction that MACo is an invaluable asset to
counties. I will continue my
commitment to you, by providing information and assistance that will help you
make better-informed decisions.
The first order of business upon my arrival on January 3rd
was for Executive Director Morris and me to begin defining and clarifying the
scope of my duties and responsibilities.
We determined that Gordon will staff several committees, I will staff
several committees and both of us will staff others. The intent here is that I expand my knowledge in several areas
and to utilize my experience and knowledge in others. This will be an ongoing process, subject to change as the need
arises.
I will not be doing the newsletter as that responsibility has
been transferred to MACo Publications Officer, Marie McAlear. Consequently, I will have time to serve as
additional staff for both the MACo/JPIA and MACo/JPA Pools. Having been a trustee of both pools, I have
a good understanding of the operations and the issues they face. I plan to be a resource to both the trustees
and staff as they strive to provide excellent coverage at fair rates.
MACo will also be expanding outreach efforts with both
county-related associations and with outside organizations that have mutual
interests and issues. Positions that they may take on issues can impact county
abilities to provide services to your residents. It is best to engage these groups in the early stages of policy
development to help assure an outcome that does not compromise our abilities
and responsibilities.
I look forward to the challenges ahead
and welcome your comments and suggestions.
You can contact me at the MACo office or by e-mail at:
blattie@maco.cog.mt.us
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NEW STILLWATER COUNTY COMMISSIONER
Larry Gee of Rapelje has been
appointed as Stillwater County Commissioner to replace Harold Blattie. Gee will serve until the November election
is certified and will complete the remaining four years of the term.
Gee is a Stillwater County native, who
returned to his hometown following a 30-year career with Goodyear Tire and
Rubber Company. Gee said, “The biggest
thing is to help the County” and added that he’d prefer not just to represent
his district, but the county as well.
The County Commission selected Gee from the names submitted by the County Republican Central Committee. “We thought Larry had a lot of experience working with the public and is know- ledgeable on local issues,” Commissioner Chuck Egan noted.
CONGRESS AND PILT
Congress
funded the PILT (payment in lieu of taxes) program with $10 million over last
year’s level. This is the highest
annual appropriation in the 25-year history of the program. However, with the recession, military and
homeland defense spending needs and tax cuts, the previous budget surplus will
no longer be available for future increases.
This increase occurred because of an amendment shepherded
through Congress by former Montana Representative Pat Williams. At the time he was serving, PILT was funded
at $106 Million. He successfully
re-worded legislation to state, “For expenses necessary to implement the Act of
October 20, 1976 as amended, $210,000,000…” , which nearly doubled the
county-by-county awards.
FOREST
SERVICE PAYMENTS AND PILT
This may come as a surprise, but some
counties that receive both federal PILT funds and US Forest Service payments
may see their PILT payments drop as a result of the increased payments they are
receiving from the US Forest Service.
Paul Beddoe, NACo Associate Director for Public Lands, explained that
since PILT was always impacted by basing fund distribution on forest harvest
revenues, it was always assumed that forest service payments would also impact
PILT payments.
It was not clear, however, whether Title
II or Title III distributions would reduce PILT funds. By September 2001, counties receiving forest
service funds had to determine whether to allocate 15-20% of their county-wide
distribution to Title II (community-directed forest and watershed projects) and
/or Title III (county-directed forest and watershed projects). No one suggested that this decision would
impact PILT revenue. ….until now.
PILT payments will be reduced for most
counties electing Title III. The
reduction is based on the share of Title I (road money) and your Title III
projects. Title II allocations and the
school share of Title I do not reduce PILT payments. The PILT formula is complex and the impacts will vary by county.
According to the information reported in
the December issue of MACo News, the following counties chose to receive Title
III funds and may have their PILT funds
affected:
Meagher Mineral Missoula Park Powell Sanders Teton
Beaverhead
Flathead
Jefferson
Lake
Lewis & Clark
Lincoln
Madison
It is
too late to change Title II and Title III allocations for this year. For more information, the BLM PILT website is
at http://www.blm.gov/pilt
INSURANCE INSIGHTS
By Greg Jackson
MACo Insurance Marketing
PROPERTY/LIABILITY POOL
REALIZES SURPLUS
The JPIA Board of Trustees was presented the actuarial
report and the audit for FY 2000-2001 at their meeting in November in
Bigfork. Both reports confirmed that
the financial status of the JPIA Trust remains positive and solvent. In fact, as of July 1, 2001, the JPIA Trust
had a $1,015,641 positive net asset or surplus. The positive trend can be attributed to many factors including
the overall management, marketing and risk management of the program.
In fact, the MACo/JPIA (P&C Trust) and the MACo/JPA
(Workers' Compensation Trust) self-insurance programs are known as two of the
best- managed public entity pools, nationally.
COVERAGE FOR JOINT
BOARDS
Counties and cities may form joint boards comprised of
county and city appointees and perhaps a jointly-appointed member or a member
at large. Examples are city/county
airport board, city/county health board, city/county planning board,
city/county library board. If the joint
board is sued for actions by their agents (employees) or for an administrative
act, is there coverage for the board?
If so, who provides the coverage—city or county?
It depends.
In most cases, if a joint board is named in a complaint
or lawsuit and the individual board members are named, the JPIA will provide
coverage / defense for the county’s appointee, if the county is a JPIA
member. The city appointee may or may
not be provided coverage and defense by the city’s carrier. A member at large, if jointly appointed, may
not be covered.
If just the board is named, i.e. City/County Airport
Board, and the individual board members are not named, then there is a question
if any coverage exists because the Board is considered a separate entity and
not exclusive to either the county or city.
At least from the JPIA perspective there would probably be defense
afforded to the County appointee.
However, that is not clear.
Don't Panic. The
JPIA and the MMIA (League of Cities and Towns pool program) have agreed to
jointly analyze and consider providing coverage to joint boards by endorsing
each policy to provide coverage to the board on a shared pro-rata basis. The endorsed coverage would be consistent and
intended to provide coverage for the joint boards members, all of them, no
matter who is involved. We will keep
JPIA members informed of our progress.
Offices of Public Assistance
Management Structure Reviews
By Karlene Grossberg, Bureau Chief
The Human and Community Services Division of DPHHS has
contracted with T. Gary Curtis to review and evaluate the management structure,
county combinations, and client access in seventeen eastern Montana counties in
Region I. Mr. Curtis will be meeting
with county directors, county commissioners and Office of Public Assistance
staff over the next several weeks to learn their ideas and thoughts about
whether organizational structure changes could be made to improve the
efficiency and effectiveness of the offices.
With the retirements of two county directors, Sue Matthews and
Linda Nybakken, the Department has the opportunity to review the management and
staffing structure as part of its decisions on these positions. Reviewing travel distances for current
county combinations, lines of commerce for clients, staffing levels and numbers
of staff supervised, and budgetary restrictions will all be a part of the
evaluation.
A similar, but less-complex, situation has occurred in Region
IV’s public assistance service network.
Patty Guiberson, Director for Silver Bow, Beaverhead and Jefferson
Counties, and Jim Fay, director for Deer Lodge, Powell and Granite Counties,
have both taken different positions within DPHHS. These two vacancies provided the opportunity to align the
management structure and service delivery areas more closely with other
providers such as Job Service and HRDC.
The Department proposed to the county commissions in each of these
counties a change in the service area (or county combination) to be supervised
by county directors. As a result,
Jefferson County was placed under the supervision of the Lewis and Clark County
Director, Rod Brown, who also supervises Broadwater County. The remaining counties of Silver Bow,
Beaverhead, Deer Lodge, Powell and Granite Counties will be supervised by a new
county director position that is currently being advertised. Two county commissioners representing these
counties will participate on the hiring panel with two Department staff.
The Department is making an effort to equalize staffing and
management ratios across the State, while assuring that excellent services
continue for public assistance recipients.
Each time a vacancy occurs, it is evaluated to determine if the position
needs to be changed, filled as is, or moved to another higher-caseload
area. When management retirements or
vacancies occur, the department also evaluates the positions using additional
criteria other than caseload growth or decline. Mr. Curtis and the Department look forward to comments and input
from county commissioners. It is
anticipated that if changes are to be made, a plan will be ready for review in
March.
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MACo HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
COMMITTEE
“THE YEAR IN
REVIEW”
By Bill Kennedy, Committee Chair,
Yellowstone County
Year 2001 went racing by and
the Health and Human Services Committee has been on the go. In January, the legislators started many
hours of negotiations to make changes for counties. The curfew bill was lost, then pulled back from the fire and the
bill was signed into law by the Governor.
Doug Kaercher, Hill County Commissioner, worked hard on this bill and
now counties have the same curfew hours as the municipalities. The Welfare Restructuring Bill (SB339) took
all session. DPHHS spoke against the
5-year average and FY 2000 average for capping our costs but supported
controlling the welfare department. We
negotiated through the House and Senate.
Senator Dale Berry worked hard on our behalf. In the last week SB339 was to be married in language to HB124, to
give the cap and have past expenses owed to the state taken off the books. But DPHHS added language to eliminate this
portion and the marriage language did not happen. Now we are making the best of a bill we were snookered on. Also, the legislature had a gate-keeping
bill to restructure commitments from counties to the state hospital, but this
was defeated. A prescription drug bill
was defeated, but new chemical dependency dollars were gained.
In all, the legislature did not give counties a lot of support
for health and human services. Mental
health, senior issues, prescription drugs, commitments and recovering all of
SB339 that we started with will be factors for our 2003 legislature.
I attended the NACo Health Steering Committee meetings at the
Legislative Conference in Washington DC and also the Annual NACo Convention in
Philadelphia in July. The hot topics
were the farm bill / food stamps and the reauthorization of welfare
reform. These and the new changes in
HICFA, now CMS (Medicare and Medicaid), will be watched closely. Health issues, prescription drugs and rural
counties’ ability to run rural hospitals, nursing homes and mental health
programs were items discussed. Next
year, proposals will be voted on at the Legislative Conference in Washington,
DC in February/March.
The Health and Human Services Committee had a public meeting
on food stamps and Standard Utility Allowance in September and followed up with
a resolution at our Annual Convention in Glendive. At our last Committee meeting of the year, we looked over the
draft of the county welfare agreement.
Each county should already have a draft copy for review.
Our next issues will be creating a task force to craft
legislation for transportation for insanity commitments, gate keeping,
flexibility of county funding and the use of local services. Tom Bennett serves on a committee reviewing
fees for restaurant inspections; Doug Kaercher serves on the DPHHS Advisory
Board; Peggy Beltrone sits on the Mental Health Oversight Committee; Janet Kelly
and I are on the state Welfare Advisory Board; and Don Rieger and I will serve
on the appeals committee for SB339.
Please let us know if any health and human services issues
need to be addressed and remember, we always have seats at the table for
commissioners to join us.
Board of Directors
Member
District 6
Joy Schanz
Commissioner
Golden Valley County
1998 to present
Prior Occupation Currently a
farmer / rancher
Favorite Part of the Job Working with the dedicated staff of Golden Valley County
Least Favorite
Part Angry taxpayers
Personal Married to Larry for 30 years; enjoys reading, sewing, crocheting
Motto “Quitters never win and winners never quit.”
COUNTY NEWS
WEED MANAGEMENT
SWEET
GRASS COUNTY
has developed the first weed management agreement between the County and Montana
Rail Link. The document is considered a
model for railroad weed management agreements.
ONLINE TAX PAYMENTS
BEAVERHEAD
COUNTY residents
can now pay their real estate and personal property taxes via Internet,
telephone or mail. The County has signed
an agreement offering taxpayers credit card payment services with Officials
Payment Corporation.
COAL BED METHANE DRILLING
GALLATIN
COUNTY, on
a tie vote, defeated a proposed ban on coal bed methane drilling in the Bozeman
Pass area. Now they are considering an
ordinance that would regulate all oil and gas drilling, including coal bed
methane, for the entire county.
COMMUNICATIONS TOWER
BIG
HORN COUNTY is
protesting a radio tower which was built in an unzoned area near the airport, where
there are concerns for flight safety.
SEWER / WATER SERVICES
MISSOULA
COUNTY’s
plan to create a district to extend the sewer system into an area targeted for
future growth, contiguous to the City of Missoula, met with opposition during
two protest periods. However, after
certification of all protests, insufficient protest was received. No action has been taken, pending receipt of
further information requested by the Commissioners.
WORKFORCE TRAINING
FLATHEAD
COUNTY was
the site of one of only six demonstration sites nationwide for Phase 1 of a
program to focus on business problems and solutions
LEWIS
& CLARK and GALLATIN COUNTIES share one of only four Phase II sites to expand
the successful programs from Phase I.
ROADS
PARK
COUNTY proposed
policy to require landowners be responsible for installing, cleaning and
maintaining cattle guards and culverts.
The Commission did pass policy that snow plowing and sanding would take
place only between 4 am and 10 pm on weekdays.
Late nights, weekend and holiday work will be done on an emergency
basis.
CARTER
COUNTY
began the process to declare as county roads those which have been
traditionally used and maintained as such.
In many cases, written easements for the roads do not exist or have not
been updated since the 1920’s.
PARKS AND RECREATION
YELLOWSTONE
COUNTY and
Billings are considering combining the two bards which oversee the development
and maintenance of parks.
GALLATIN
COUNTY has
agreed to use some of its Community Transportation Enhancement Project (CTEP)
funds for a bike trail in Gallatin Gateway.
The project had been delayed for two years because of cost estimate
increases.
FLATHEAD
COUNTY has
been concerned about the winter maintenance of up to 70 miles of trails and
bike paths crisscrossing the
county. Many were built using federal
funds, which require that they be passable and safe all year round.
NATIVE AMERICAN COUNCIL
CASCADE
COUNTY
formed a Native American Council to better communicate with over 4,500 Native
Americans living in the County.
PAY FOR MILITARY SERVICE
YELLOWSTONE
COUNTY
employees who are called up for military duty will continue to receive their
level of county pay. The County will
make up the difference between what an employee earns in military pay and the
county salary.
COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF
SCHOOLS POSITION
LAKE, RICHLAND and LEWIS & CLARK COUNTIES agreed to leave the County
Superintendent of Schools position as an elected office, rather than contracting
for the service through the County Treasurer’s office.
JEFFERSON
COUNTY agreed
to decrease the elected Superintendent position from full time to part time.
PLANNING & PLANNING
BOARDS
GALLATIN
COUNTY and
Bozeman signed an urban growth area plan.
The goal is to have land close to the city develop with city-standard
infrastructure.
FLATHEAD
COUNTY
withdrew from their city-county planning board and eliminated the joint
planning jurisdiction. Controversy
during the past two years has centered around the city’s support for planning
regulations and the county’s support for private property rights and lifting
regulations.
PARK
COUNTY met
with the Livingston City Council to discuss disbanding the City-County Planning
Board.
ANIMAL SHELTER
LINCOLN
COUNTY
Animal Shelter has received allegations of brutality and cruelty to animals in
its care. The Commissioners invited a
California-based animal welfare organization to investigate the claims.
JAILS
STILLWATER
COUNTY, with
no jail facilities, made adjustments when the Yellowstone County Detention
Facility could no longer provide spaces to other counties. The County assigned different punishments to
non-violent offenders, such as release on bond, house arrest with electronic
monitoring, or sequestering in group homes.
BIG
HORN, CARBON, MUSSELSHELL, STILLWATER, SWEET GRASS and YELLOWSTONE COUNTIES are discussing the
possibility of developing a regional jail.
2002 MILEAGE RATE ADJUSTMENT
2-18-503 MCA allows Montana public officials
and employees to be reimbursed at the federal rate of 36.5¢ per mile for the
first 1,000 miles per month. Any
mileage over 1,000 miles each month is to be reimbursed at 33.5¢ per mile.
When a public employee is authorized to
drive a privately owned vehicle, even though a government-owned or leased
vehicle is available, a rate of 3¢ less than the federal rate is allowed. Therefore, reimbursement rate under this
circumstance is 33.5¢ per mile.
Over ¾ of state can now be viewed
Montana’s Natural Resource Information System (NRIS)
announced its website now offers over 1,100 newly acquired United States
Geological Survey (USGS) aerial photos of Montana.
These Digital Orthophoto Quarter Quads (DOQQs) are spatially
referenced, high-resolution aerial photos that can be used as base layers for
GIS mapping applications or in Internet map applications for display and
analysis. Duane Anderson, Manager of
the GIS and Information Systems Development Section at NRIS, said, “These
aerial photos are extremely useful in fighting wildfires, because firefighters
can count on their accuracy to help them see roads, structures, and bodies of
water.” Anderson added that the DOQQs
have many other uses in other professions, such as helping realtors find vacant
lots or get a virtual aerial view of well locations on Montana’s landscape.
This latest acquisition brings the NRIS inventory of aerial
photos to a total of 9,316 -- over 77% of the state can be viewed! Anderson concluded by saying, “As more data
become available from USGS, NRIS will acquire, process, and post them on our
website until we have entire statewide coverage available for public use.”
The data can be accessed free of charge from the NRIS web site
at: http://nris.state.mt.us. For more
information, contact Anderson by calling (406) 444-5356 or e-mailing
duanderson@state.mt.us .
ENHANCED WELL DATA
The
Montana Natural Resource Information System (NRIS), in cooperation with the
Groundwater Information Center (GWIC) of the Montana Bureau of Mines and
Geology, has announced a new enhancement of the GWIC wells coverage display on
the NRIS website.
NRIS
Director Jim Hill said, “We’ve added flags and data links to wells in the GWIC
database which have water quality data associated with them. In the past, all wells were displayed using
a single color, with links provided to the individual well logs at the GWIC. With the new enhancement, wells are displayed
in two colors -- those without any water quality data, and those with water
quality data.”
For each
well with water quality data, a hyperlink is provided which takes visitors to
the GWIC's online 'one page' water quality summary report for that well.
Visit
http://nris.state.mt.us and click on the “What’s New” link.
NRIS was
established in 1985 by the Legislature.
As a division of the State Library, it acts as a clearinghouse for
natural resource information. For
information, contact Hill by calling (406) 444-5355 or e-mailing
jimhill@state.mt.us .
NACo WATER INFORMATION KIT
NACo
has developed and is currently distributing the Source Water Information Kit
for Local Government Officials (Source Water Kit). This activity is a deliverable
under NACo's Source Water (Drinking Water) Protection Project. The goal of the project is to reach out
directly to county officials to elevate their awareness and knowledge of
drinking water protection and assist them in undertaking drinking water
assessment and protection programs.
The
Source Water Kit includes brochures, technical documents, case studies and
other information that informs county officials of the tools, techniques, and
strategies to assist them in protecting local drinking water supplies.
The kits have been distributed to members
of the
* NACo Board
* Rural Action Caucus
* Environment,
Energy, and Land Use Committee
* Agriculture and Rural Affairs
Committee
* EPA state and regional offices
* approximately 70 individuals who
requested copies.
(They
were made aware of the kit through articles in County News or displays at
NACo's national conferences.)
NACo is working with the state associations of counties to distribute the remainder of the kits to some of the rural counties in the state that may not have had an opportunity to receive one yet. In addition, NACo is in the process of producing 1,000 more copies of the kit. The kits will be either in hard copy, as before, or in CD Rom. NACo will be sending all state associations additional copies in the near future.
MACo
has yet to receive copies.
Attorney General
OPINIONS
Volume 49 No. 14
Question: May
an elementary school which has not been operated for three consecutive years,
and which is in an elementary district that has been abandoned pursuant to MCA
20-6-209, be reopened at the request of the abandoned district pursuant to
MCA 20-6-502?
Held: An
elementary school district that has not
operated a school for three consecutive
school years has been abandoned pursuant to MCA 20-6-209 and may not petition
to reopen the school under
MCA 20-6-502.
Requested by: Richard
A. Malagisi
Sweet Grass County Attorney
Volume 49 No. 15
Question: Does
the appointment of a legislator as a member of the Board of Review, under MCA
30-16-302, conflict with Article V, Section 9 of the Montana Constitution and
MCA 5-2-104, and if so, can a nonvoting legislator be appointed?
Held: 1. The President of the Senate and Speaker of the
House are prohibited by Article V, Section 9 of the Montana Constitution and by
MCA 5-2-104 from appointing a legislator as a member of the Board of Review as
provided by MCA 30-16-302.
2. Designating a legislator as a nonvoting member does
not circumvent this prohibition.
3. Under MCA 30-16-301, the President and the Speaker can
appoint a non-legislator as a member of the Board.
Requested by: Kurt
G. Alme
Department of Revenue Director
***************************************************************************************************************TWO PROJECTS
NATURAL RESOURCES LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE
Policy debates over natural resources,
land use and other public issues often leave resource managers and
decision
makers at a loss as to how to address conflicting demands. Citizens, too, are frustrated, whether the
debate centers on natural resource industries or on conservation. Thousands of acres hang in administrative
limbo.
This project, which is just starting for
2002, is seeking sponsors (MACo has been invited.), and is designed for
citizens and officials who have a stake in the use and conservation of
Montana’s natural resources. The
objectives are four-fold:
1. To foster a common understanding of key natural resource issues
facing the state
2. To examine a variety of strategies to shape natural resource
policy and to refine skills on when to use what strategy
3. To strengthen working
relationships among citizens and organizations
4. To develop leaders who see beyond single disciplines and
sectors, and possess the necessary skills to help Montanans shape public
policies that integrate concerns for our economy, environment, and way of life.
The program is structured around three
seminars and a leadership action plan.
Seminars began in January and will occur once a month for three months,
usually located at institutions of higher learning around the state. Each session includes a mix of presentations on a particular natural
resource,
the social and political context of the natural resource management, and
strategies to shape effective policy.
Participants complete sets of readings prior to each session and will
prepare the leadership action
CITIZENS JURY ON MONTANA’S TAX SYSTEM
This project is sponsored by Montana
Citizens Partnership and coordinated by the Consensus Council and the Jefferson
Center. The effort is to engage
citizens in a public dialogue concerning the types of taxes which fund
government services (schools, cities, counties and state).
Generally a citizens jury is a randomly selected and demographically
diverse panel of 18 to 20 citizens that meets for five days to carefully
examine an important public issue.
The Citizens Jury on Montana’s Tax System is focusing on what
types of taxes should finance government services and how, if at all , the mix
of taxes can be changed to improve the state’s economy. To date, the Jury has heard information
from a variety of expert witnesses on the current tax structure and how we
compare to other states. Jurors will
develop recommendations for the Montana tax system to be shared with decision
makers and the public.
The citizens jury process has included
forming an advisory committee, conducting a telephone survey, selecting a
citizen jury, inviting expert witnesses to present a variety of perspectives
and opinions, and conducting hearings.
The telephone survey was conducted in the first part of November and the
citizens jury was chosen at the end of that month. In January expert witnesses were invited. The Jury conducted hearings at the end of
January. The recommendations from this
effort are to be completed mid-February.
Representing MACo, Executive Director Gordon
Morris served on Montana Citizens Partnership, the sponsor for the
project. Gary Fjelstad, Rosebud County
Commissioner and MACo Past President, served on the Advisory Committee, which
provided advice on the Jury’s goals, demographics for jury composition, the
agenda and witness selection.
The
Montana Consensus Council and the Professional Development Center are pleased
to announce a new Program on Public Dispute Resolution. The program consists of four integrated
courses.
Ÿ Facilitation and Mediation Skills for Multi-Party Public
Disputes (March
7, 2002) – This one-day class will focus on the skills required to
successfully facilitate and mediate multi-party public disputes. We will use a series of simulations to give
students practice in facilitation and mediation. Through coaching and feedback by experienced facilitators of
public disputes, we will help students understand their strengths and areas for
improvement.
Ÿ Collaborative Problem Solving and Consensus Building (April 18-19, 2002) – This
two-day class is designed for citizens and public officials. It focuses on the role of collaboration and
consensus building in public participation and public decision making, and
gives students a framework and set of analytical tools for determining when collaboration may be
appropriate, how to design and manage an effective process, and how to
effectively participate in such a process.
Ÿ Public Participation Strategies (September 17, 2002) – This one-day
class is designed for public officials that want to learn more about the most
effective approaches to public participation.
We will examine the legal and other reasons to conduct public
participation, and identify what works and why. Participants will examine public participation strategies to
develop growth policy plans and implement the Montana Environmental Policy
Act.
Ÿ Negotiation Skills for Multi-Party Public Disputes (October
17, 2002) – This one-day class will provide participants the basic framework
for mutual gains negotiation. Topics
will include assessing your best alternative to a negotiated agreement;
distinguishing interests from positions; making first offers; creating and
claiming value; developing and using objective criteria; following-through. We
strongly recommend you attend “Collaborative Problem Solving and Consensus
Building” before this session.
• Approved for graduate credits
through the Masters in Public Administration program of the University of
Montana and Montana State University.
(You must register and pay the cost of University credits yourself.)
• Approved for Continuing Legal Education
credits through the State Bar of Montana
• Approved for Teacher's Renewal credits
through the Office of Public Instruction
• Endorsed by Dr. Larry Susskind, Director of the MIT-Harvard Public Disputes Program and President of the Consensus Building Institute.
This series will take place with instruction by
nationally recognized leaders in Public Dispute Resolution. The lead instructor is Matthew McKinney, Executive Director of the Montana Consensus
Council. Matt has facilitated and mediated many public policy forums, helping
citizens and officials build agreement on natural resource issues and taught
many seminars and university courses.
Doug Nethercut is the Executive Director of the Jefferson
Center, a not-for-profit organization based in Minneapolis. The Center strengthens the democratic
process by providing decision makers with tools to generate thoughtful citizen
input on matters of public significance.
Patrick Field is vice-president of the Consensus Building
Institute, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Patrick has provided training to public and private organizations
throughout North America. He co-authored,
with Dr. Larry Susskind, Dealing with an Angry Public.
Nedra Chandler is staff to the Consensus Council. As a geographer and mediator with 14 years
experience, she has taught annual seminars and courses in negotiations, multiparty
consensus building and public involvement in Montana and the Pacific
Northwest.
Kathy van Hook is staff to the Consensus Council and a workplace mediator. A former labor mediator, Kathy has taught more than 30 courses in interest-based bargaining, negotiations, and facilitation.
Each session runs from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Cost of each one-day course is $105
Cost of the two-day course is $175
(Locations to be announced)
You may register by any of
these methods –
Ÿ complete
and mail a form
Ÿ call
(406) 444-3985
Ÿ Outlook
message to "PDC registration"
Ÿ e-mail to pdc01
State Bar of Montana presents a series of
seminars :
March
1 Employment Law Helena
March
15 Ethics Butte
May
10 Family Law Great Falls
May
17 General Practice Miles City
All
seminars require registration. Contact
Gino Little at 447-2206 or glittle@montanabar.org
Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits
are assigned to each seminar.
Pamphlets for the Employment Law Seminar
are available at the MACo office.
INFORMATION AND REPORTS
National County Government Week
April 7 - 13, 2002
National
County Government Week (NCGW) is an annual celebration of county government. First
held in 1991, the goal of County Government Week is to raise public awareness
and understanding about the roles and responsibilities of the nation's
counties.
More than 1,000 counties annually
participate in NCGW by holding a variety of programs and events. These include
tours of county facilities, presentations in schools, meetings with business
and community leaders, recognition programs for volunteers, briefings on
projects, and adoption of proclamations.
Our goal is to improve the public's
understanding of what county governments do. This goal may be accomplished in a
variety of ways. Here are a couple::
Get
set to issue a proclamation
A sample proclamation is below. This proclamation may be tailored to emphasize
your county's unique strengths and accomplishments.
Contact
the media
After deciding what events or activities will be held, let the media know. Send
them a notice about a month before National County Government Week begins,
alerting them of your plans. You also might want to set up meetings, so that
you can have a chance to sit down with media decision-makers and tell them what
your county is doing for National County Government Week. After the events, you
also could send a news release, explaining how the events went.
SAMPLE PROCLAMATION
National
County Government Week
April 7 - 13, 2002
Whereas, counties are the first to respond to emergency situations and are responsible for planning for the future; and
Whereas, county officials keep citizens protected through planning, co-operation and dedication of professionals who are able to mobilize and respond quickly and effectively; and
Whereas,
counties have a long history of serving and providing for the American people and counties will continue
to safeguard our way of life,
remaining vigilant protectors of our citizens; and
Whereas, county governments are the citizen's local government voice, providing solutions that bring communities together;
Therefore, in recognition of the leadership, innovation and valuable service provided by our nation's counties, (name of county and state) hereby proclaims April 7 - 13, 2002 as National County Government Week.
Dear Fellow County Official, NCGW
This
year, more than ever before, our citizens need to know that their county
governments are working hard to protect and safeguard their way of life. “Counties
Secure America” is the theme for National County Government Week 2002. County leaders have the responsibility, not
only to ensure that people are safe, but also to calm fears and help America's
communities get back to life as normal. Your 2002 County Government Week
program can help you do that. Counties
are first responders in most emergencies because they are often times
responsible for:
·
Extinguishing fires
·
Enforcing the law
·
Rescuing survivors
·
Caring for the injured in county hospitals
·
Rerouting traffic and setting up roadblocks
·
Organizing evacuations
·
Notifying citizens of impending events
·
Operating emergency shelters
During
this time of unprecedented national unity, there is an overwhelming desire
among our citizens to participate, to take part in and to do their share to
protect the fundamentals of the American way of life. Encourage your citizens
to make a commitment to work at the polls. There is no greater expression of
freedom and liberty than our electoral process.
NACo will celebrate NCGW
in a number of different ways. We will highlight the recommendations and best
practices arising from our Homeland Security Task Force and promote our Expand
Democracy campaign to recruit poll workers across the country. We will also hold the 3rd Annual Acts of
Caring Awards ceremony April 6, on Capitol Hill. These awards recognize the top
county volunteer programs in the country.
First
celebrated in 1991, NCGW was initiated to raise public awareness about
counties. Urban and rural counties, counties from different regions and
encompassing varied constituencies, all represent diverse and vibrant
communities. National County Government Week helps our citizens better
understand how their county responds to their needs.
There
are many ways to celebrate county government. The NACo booklet provides ideas
for a variety of different programs, and we look forward to hearing about your
innovative projects. Your county is one of more than 1,000 counties that work
each year to help citizens better understand the valuable services that
counties provide.
Thank
you for your participation in National County Government Week.
Javier Gonzales, NACo President
Commissioner, Santa Fe County, NM