Shedding Light on Missoula County Government

MISSOULA - It’s been a whirlwind five months. I’ve learned plenty since I took office in January, so I thought it was time to let Pathfinder readers know what I’ve been up to and try to shed a little light on county government, which I believe is one of the least understood levels of government in Montana.

With nearly 900 employees spread out across myriad departments, Missoula County government—an arm of state government—provides an array of services from district court clerk support to staffing a county-wide Office of Emergency Management to helping our neighbors through Partnership Heath Center. While some functions, like those performed by the Health Department, are joint city-county responsibilities, by and large county government’s focus is on providing services outside of incorporated municipalities, such as Missoula. I’ve invested a great deal of time over the last several months meeting with employees, department heads and other elected officials to better understand their unique responsibilities.

Missoula County has 11 independent elected officials, which include three commissioners, a county auditor, clerk and recorder, clerk of district court, county attorney, two justices of the peace, sheriff and superintendent of schools. While these individuals and their offices are under the umbrella of county government, they are all relatively autonomous. Consequently, with the exception of budget approval, county commissioners have pretty limited jurisdiction over these offices.

As you may know, we just wrapped up another legislative session in Helena, which required us to track bills and assess their impact on local government. I’m pleased to report that Senator Sue Malek carried a bill (SB 224), drafted by Missoula County, to make it easier to replace failing septic systems on former Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) cabin lease lots. Previously, if your system failed on one of these lots, you would have been required to go through a lengthy and costly review process by Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). However, our Health Department review process essentially accomplishes the same thing and at a fraction of the time and cost. As part of this effort, I’d like to recognize House District 92 Representative Mike Hopkins, who lent his support for this bill in the House and helped get it across the finish line.

While it is great to have a Montanan at the helm of the U.S. Department of the Interior, Representative Zinke’s resignation from the U.S. House triggered the need for an unbudgeted special election. The cost of elections in Montana are borne by counties. The projected cost for this election—which was a full poll election—is approximately $230,000, which will come out of our general fund reserves (a last resort since the reserve fund is what enables the county to have a good credit rating).

Across Missoula County, there are seven community councils (Swan Valley, Seeley Lake, Bonner-Milltown, East Missoula, Lolo, West Valley/Frenchtown and Evaro-Finley-O’Keefe). As part of my outreach efforts, my goal is to make it around to each community council at least a couple times a year. It’s been a pleasure visiting with folks in Seeley and the Swan so far this year and I look forward to returning in the months to come.

People sometimes ask me what the biggest surprise has been in serving as a county commissioner and I’d have to say that it’s the limited amount of time I have that is not already programmed out in standing meetings. Three days a week the commission convenes administrative public meetings where we deal with the nuts and bolts of administering county government. Every other Thursday, we have more formal public hearings in the courthouse that focus on land use decisions, approval of resolutions, or dealing with other matters that have significant public interest. We also meet frequently with individual departments to receive updates and to provide policy and operational direction.

There are several dozen citizen boards and committees under the purview of county government, some of which include commissioner representation. A few of the boards that I serve on include the Parks and Trails Advisory Board, Local Emergency Planning Committee, Missoula Development Authority, Election Advisory Committee and Transportation Policy Coordinating Committee (where I’m the vice chair). In all cases, I’ve been impressed by the level of citizen engagement in Missoula County and the dedication of county employees.

I count it a privilege and honor to represent Missoula County residents, so don’t hesitate to shoot me an email, dstrohmaier@missoulacounty.us, or give me a call at 406-258-4877 if you have ideas to make Missoula County an even better place to live. I may not always have a clear answer but I’ll do my best to put you in touch with someone who might.

Alternatively, check out the county website (www.missoulacounty.us), which is a treasure trove of information about county departments and services. And feel free to follow Missoula County on Twitter at Twitter.com/missoulacounty or on Facebook at Facebook.com/Missoula.county. I also have my own Facebook page (Facebook.com/commissionerstrohmaier) where you can follow my county government activity and perspectives.

Have a great summer!

 

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