I posted this today on my personal Facebook page regarding a picture making the rounds on social media: “I’ve had several folks bring this to my attention today. A couple of dumpsters full of books behind a public library is a head scratcher for sure.”I’ve had several folks bring this to my attention today. A…
“Oh no! Another new casino in Great Falls!”. Sorry, but that complaint is kind of misleading, because gaming licenses are tied to liquor/alcohol licenses which are controlled by the state and apportioned to communities according to population. Think Whack-a-Mole. One has to close before another pops up. We haven’t had any “new” additional casinos here…
It’s time to update our Growth Policy, Great Falls. It may come as a surprise to some folks but there are a significant number of Great Fallsians who don’t want our city to grow at all, they’re happy with things exactly as they are here in the Electric City. I get it. Take a look…
On January 16 at the Great Falls City Commission meeting I proposed an initiative to meet a process deadline which would have then given the City Commission, the library board, and the public three months time (90 days) to review and have a discussion about a 30-year-old agreement between the City and the Great Falls…
Over the past few months I have received quite a few emails in my city commission mailbox from local constituents with the subject line, ‘Reaffirm your commitment to America’s closest ally, Israel.‘ The content of the email is the same but from many different local folks concerned about the ongoing war in Israel. You can…
Not only are taxes inevitable – it can be hard to understand how they get calculated, assessed, and collected. The finger pointing concerning taxes in Montana is in full swing – counties blaming cities, the state blaming counties and cities, cities blaming the state, state legislators blaming county and city commissioners, county and city commissioners…
We often hear the phrase ‘existential threat’ applied to various entities in various situations, but the meaning of that phrase is sometimes vague and misunderstood. The modern state of Israel faces an actual existential threat right now, today, and has faced that threat every moment of every day since its establishment in 1948, being surrounded…
On Sunday I received the following message and picture from a Great Falls resident: “Hey Rick we went to watch 50 Watt Sun (at the Beacon) last night and under the train bridge this is what we saw! Who need to clean this mess up? I hate that this is happening in the city I…
Last week the Great Falls City Commission voted 4-0 (Mayor Kelly was not present) to accept the City Manager’s FY24 budget which includes adopting the proposed total allowable property tax increase of 4.38%. The approved proposal includes the 1.92% permissive medical levy and the 2.46% inflationary factor increases. Those increases would equate to the following…
No one likes paying taxes. I certainly don’t. I don’t like handing over my hard earned money to pay for billions in foreign aid to countries that hate us and billions and billions for wars in which we have no business. I especially don’t like handing over my hard earned money to pay debt service…