By Jack Reaney ASSOCIATE EDITOR
In the June 4 primary election, Montana voters will see a ballot item regarding a study of their respective city’s and county’s government structure.
“We should all pay very close attention to this,” said Daniel Bierschwale, executive director of the Big Sky Resort Area District.
Bierschwale said if the Big Sky community is interested in exploring how both Madison and Gallatin counties could improve their “power, form and plan of government,” according to state documents—from voter representation to number of county commissioners—then voters should go to the polls on June 4 and push the effort forward.
If a simple majority of voters in June choose to move the study forward, then a commission of citizens will be elected in November to conduct the study.
More information is available online through Montana State University. The webpage includes links to virtual office hours—six, one-hour informational sessions between March 8 and May 31—to discuss the study, and a statement from Dr. Kenneth Weaver about the importance of the review.
“Article XI, Section 9 [of the 1972 Montana Constitution] mandated that the legislature establish procedures that would require every unit of county and municipal government to undergo periodic citizen review of the structures of their local government,” Weaver stated.
“This Local Government Review process was unprecedented in the United States and remains, after more than three decades and four complete Voter Review cycles, a truly distinctive characteristic of the Montana political landscape and, arguably, one of the most important innovations in modernizing the performance and accountability of local government in the twentieth century [and beyond],” Weaver added.
If voters in each county choose not to establish the study commission, no further action will occur until 2034.
For Big Sky community members, Bierschwale was sure to distinguish between two similar but unrelated efforts: this state-mandated government review for counties and municipalities, and BSRAD’s upcoming study of local governance options in Big Sky.
“The [BSRAD] incorporation report is primarily around municipal government… The local government study is a requirement every 10 years for municipal governments and counties,” Bierschwale said.
