Voters who recently received absentee primary elections ballots in the mail may have been surprised to see ballot measures listed for local government studies. Those voters within the town of Broadus have two options, one for a review of county government and another for town government, while voters from outside the city limits saw only the county option, per PR County Election Administrator Cynde Jo Gatlin.
The local government review is a process laid out in the Montana Constitution in which every ten years all counties and municipalities have a chance to form a voter-initiated review of their system of government.
If a review is passed in the primary election, like it was by PR County in 2014, candidates may sign up for the review board. Three candidates will then be elected in the November general election, and will serve on the board.
The job of the board will be to look at the form of government and potentially make changes – for example designating new term lengths for elected officials, or changing town council or county commissioner representation from ward by ward to at large representation. Other changes may include fundamental changes to the system of government, such as a change from the county commissioner model to a commissioner/manager form, where an executive would be appointed to handle affairs.
In the 2014 review process, the review board found that the current system of county commissioners is working for the county.
The cost for these studies has been budgeted at $15,000 for the county, and $2,000 for the town, with funds being budgeted from local taxpayers to pay for the process. If voters approve the process, the matters will move forward with election of board members. If the voters turn down the measures in the primaries, the review will not be held.
The matter will return to the ballots a decade henceforth.
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