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Study commission seeks clarity on volunteer fire department authority after attorney general guidance
Summary
Commissioners and County Attorney Matt Enruth discussed conflicting language between a 1996 Butte-Silver Bow ordinance and state law/attorney general opinions over volunteer fire departments' budget authority and scheduled follow-up briefings to clarify responsibilities and potential charter fixes.
The study commission moved to probe a long-standing question about the governance of paid and volunteer fire services after County Attorney Matt Enruth said a past attorney general opinion limits the effect of a local ordinance when the charter lacks explicit authority.
Enruth told the commission that an attorney general opinion from the 1970s and later statutory language require matters affecting volunteer fire departments — notably budgetary authority — to be set in the charter. "The attorney general's opinion specifically states that because it's not contained in the charter and state law requires it to be contained in the…
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