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Greeley Neighborhood group asks commissioners to support charter changes including separate council chair and CEO
Summary
A representative of the Greeley Neighborhood Community Development Corporation urged the council to consider charter changes: separate the CEO role from council chair, create a full-time council chair elected at large, consolidate districts into six and add neighborhood coordinator duties to the charter.
R. Edward Banner Rock, speaking for the Greeley Neighborhood Community Development Corporation, used the meeting's public-comment period to present a multi-point recommendation to the Butte-Silver Bow Council of Commissioners and asked the council to engage with the group's drafting process.
The group requested that the county's charter be amended to: remove the Butte-Silver Bow CEO as chair of the council; create a full-time council chair elected at large (the group said the position could be called a mayor if preferred); establish a full-time Butte-Silver Bow CEO with city-manager qualifications to be elected at large; consolidate existing districts so there are six districts total (two current districts combined per new district); set six full-time council commissioners elected by district; and add neighborhood community improvement coordinator responsibilities to the charter in addition to the council's existing powers.
Banner Rock said the Greeley Neighborhood Community Development Corporation has obtained charter language examples from Great Falls, Helena and Missoula for neighborhood or community council provisions and requested the commissioners' input. He proposed two routes for collaboration: forming a formal subcommittee with the neighborhood group or selecting a small group of commissioners to work with the group informally, subject to legal review.
No formal council action followed during the meeting; the remarks were recorded as public comment and the speaker asked to speak with members of the economic development committee after the meeting.
Why it matters: The recommended changes would alter the county's governance structure and election method if pursued. The speaker requested council engagement and indicated the Greeley group intends to provide a recommended proposal to the local government study commission.
