The Butte-Silver Bow Council of Commissioners voted Dec. 1 to prepare and submit factual responses to a request for information (RFI) from the Montana Department of Corrections about the possible siting and construction of a state women's prison in the county.

The motion to “concur and place on file” the county’s response to the DOC RFI passed after roughly 40 minutes of discussion that included concerns about communication from the department, potential loss of Highlands College, local staffing and housing impacts, and whether responding would signal local support.

Chief Executive J.P. Gallagher said he placed the item on the agenda because the DOC sent an RFI directly to a small number of communities and he wanted the commission’s direction. “I didn't wanna make the decision that no, we're not gonna respond if it's this body's direction to respond to this RFI,” Gallagher said, noting the RFI asks for workforce and demographic information. Gallagher said staff would supply data, not opinion, and that the deadline for a response was “the fifteenth” as stated at the meeting.

Commissioners voiced competing community priorities. Commissioner Fisher argued for submitting answers to the factual questions so the county would not be seen as unresponsive: “Ignoring people who ask for information is not a not a good thing to do,” Fisher said. Commissioner Callahan urged the council to consider the potential economic benefits and noted the construction would likely produce union jobs covered by the Davis-Bacon Act, saying the community should at least “keep our foot in the door.”

Several commissioners raised specific concerns. Commissioner O'Leary said he had received no constituent contacts in favor of siting the prison in his district and cautioned that if Highlands College were displaced the commission would oppose the project. Commissioner Anderson said many constituents oppose the project and said he would have preferred sending a blank form marked “we’re not interested.”

Sheriff Lester told the commission that a new prison could worsen local detention staffing shortages: “Whatever rate they're paying now is more than we currently pay, and that's one of the things we fight with when we're talking about hiring staff at the detention center,” he said, adding that a higher state wage could draw employees away from the local jail. The sheriff also warned of additional housing demand from staff and workers.

Commissioners repeatedly criticized the department’s communication, saying the DOC presented to the commission previously but had not followed up on questions the commission had sent. Commissioner O'Leary said the lack of answers from the department was “a concern.” Commissioner Morgan said providing the requested data would show the county was engaged rather than uninformed.

Action taken: Commissioner Fisher moved to concur and place on file communication number 2025-5473—responding to the DOC RFI; the motion received a second and passed. The meeting record does not list a full roll-call vote count by name for that motion; the clerk recorded the motion as passed and the body’s direction was to submit factual answers. The commission directed staff to compile demographic, workforce and infrastructure data to complete the RFI.

Discussion versus decision: Commissioners conducted substantive discussion (community reaction, Highlands College, workforce, housing and law enforcement impacts). The commission’s formal decision was limited and procedural: to send factual responses to the RFI and place the communication on file. No decision was made at the meeting to endorse, approve or reject siting a prison in Butte-Silver Bow.

Next steps: Staff (community development and planning departments, per the chief executive) will pull demographic and infrastructure information and prepare the RFI response for submission by the stated deadline. Commissioners asked that the executive branch share the draft responses with the commission before submission.