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Fallon County discusses sharing validated physical addresses with state cadastral system to aid 911 and delivery services
Summary
Commissioners and public commenters discussed a proposal to share physical address data with the Montana State Library cadastral system to improve 911 routing and delivery accuracy; residents raised concerns about outreach and privacy, and staff said only addresses (no names or phone numbers) would be shared and that additional public notice could be provided.
Fallon County commissioners opened a discussion about providing validated physical addresses to the Montana State Library's cadastral system so that emergency dispatch, parcel carriers and mapping services can locate rural properties more reliably.
Speaker 5 explained the proposal's purpose: "This is strictly sharing our information with the state of Montana so that everybody's on the same page. Has nothing to do with the post office," (Speaker 5). County staff and an AMS/USPS representative (Speaker 15) explained the proposed exchange would include only physical addresses, not names or phone numbers, and that an Excel-type address upload would not expose personal contact information.
Multiple residents and commissioners urged broader public outreach. Speaker 7 (Judy), who said she was told the state had assigned a staffer to help update Fallon County, asked that residents without Facebook still have a chance to comment and be notified through other channels such as local newspapers or radio. Speaker 17 (Sean Wiseman) gave a specific example of 911 misrouting after a call was routed to an out-of-area dispatch center, saying that correct cadastral entries matter for emergency response.
Commissioners agreed there was no immediate legal barrier to sharing the addresses but recommended more public outreach and the option of scheduling a public hearing at 5:30 p.m. to solicit broader input. No final decision to release data was made at the work session; staff will verify outreach options and bring the item back to the agenda when public-notice steps are planned.
Why it matters: Accurate cadastral records are used by state and commercial mapping systems (including Google Maps) and by emergency dispatch centers. County staff said correcting cadastral records can reduce incorrect deliveries and improve emergency response times, especially for rural addresses.
