EBS STAFF
Bozeman voters faced two ballot initiatives regarding public safety in Tuesday’s election: a construction bond for a fourth fire station, and a mill levy to fund additional first responders. Both failed.
The fire station bond received 11,552 votes in favor, but was overwhelmed by 15,637 votes against. The first responder mill levy failed by a slightly wider margin, with 16,083 votes against, according to Thursday’s unofficial results from the Gallatin County Elections Office.
“While we are disappointed, we respect and understand the difficult choices people faced as they made this decision,” Interim City Manager Chuck Winn stated in a Nov. 6 press release. “The two questions were big asks, and these are challenging times for many in our community… There was also a strong concern about taxes and the cost of living, and that’s likely a major factor in how this vote turned out.”
Winn added that the City of Bozeman will continue searching for ways to improve public safety without increasing tax burden, noting that “The safety concerns that we shared throughout this process and the need for additional public safety resources aren’t going away.”
Winn thanked police and fire staff for taking time to meet with the community and educate them on the ballot initiatives, and thanked the community for taking the time to learn and vote.
