Bozeman commission, city staff hold recorded retreat to clarify roles, improve collaboration

Bozeman City commissioners and senior staff met in a recorded retreat to talk about how they work together, emphasizing that the meeting was for relationship-building and not for making formal decisions. City Manager Chuck said the gathering’s purpose was to “get out from behind the dais, get out from behind the podium, sit around the table, and talk and get to know each other and get to talk about how we work together in this city to serve this community.”

The retreat centered on the division of labor set out in the city charter and reiterated in a 2019 document the group identified as Resolution 5,124. Chuck and others described the commission as the policy-making body and the city manager and staff as responsible for carrying out policy. “The commission gives the direction, and the city manager and the staff carry it out,” Chuck said during remarks that explained the charter’s intent…