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Study commission examines volunteer fire-department governance, legal questions about assets and taxes
Summary
Commissioners and legal counsel reviewed the consequences of removing volunteer fire departments from the charter, citing an analogous Montana Supreme Court case and Attorney General opinions; they requested equipment inventories, map clarifications and further legal/fiscal analysis.
Silver Bow County study commissioners devoted a major portion of their Nov. 17 meeting to the governance of volunteer fire departments, legal precedents on ownership of apparatus and buildings, and the fiscal consequences if volunteer departments were removed from the county charter.
Commissioner Matt provided a legal overview and cited a 2021 Montana case involving the city of Ekalaka and its volunteer fire department, which he said found municipal ownership of commingled apparatus under similar facts. He told the commission that disputes over whether specific vehicles,…
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