Rick Tryon is an entrepreneur, a singer-songwriter, and is currently serving a four year term as a Great Falls City Commissioner. Helping Montana become an even greater place to live, play and work is Tryon's passion.
Well, Great Falls friends and neighbors, there’s some good news and there’s some bad news.
Good News First
According to a recent analysis by the City of Great Falls Planning and Community Development Department new construction and building permits are not just on an upward trend over the past year, they’re up by a lot.
Take a look at this chart:
Now, The Bad News
Unfortunately, we also have some troubling stats related to rising crime in our town.
As you can see from this slide we have some crime issues that aren’t magically going away and that we need to deal with – a 28% increase in general case investigations!
On Thursday, December 15 I had the honor and privilege to represent the City of Great Falls and the citizens of Great Falls in welcoming 21 newly minted American citizens to our country, state, and community.
The naturalization swearing-in and ceremony was held at the federal courthouse here in Great Falls with the Honorable Brian M. Morris, U.S. Chief District Court Judge for the District of Montana presiding.
I was deeply moved seeing the sincere and grateful faces of the new members of our American family as they held their hands over their hearts and recited our Pledge of Allegiance and then took the Naturalization Oath.
Here is the list of the countries from which these 21 new citizens came.
Canada
India
Thailand
Burma
Mexico
Philippines
Ecuador
Dominican Republic
Russia
Congo
Brazil
Germany
Columbia
Romania
United Kingdom
Argentina
I was reminded of the awesome privilege, and corresponding responsibilities, of American citizenship and how those of us who were born on freedom’s soil take it all for granted at times.
These beautiful men and women who worked so hard to call themselves American citizens, and respected our laws enough to do it the right way, are an inspiration.
This is the first in what will be a regular column on E-City Beat in which I will attempt to debunk some of the rumors, urban myths, misinformation, and flat-out bunk making the rounds in Great Falls on social media, information/news outlets, and ‘word on the street’.
We’ll start with the recent local rumor that goes something like this, “The City is going to try to raise our property taxes 191% in a safety levy!”
Nope.
The fact is that the Great Falls City Commission asked our city administration to gather information from our police, fire, and municipal court departments on their staffing and infrastructure needs going forward.
The result was a set of “good, better, best” funding amounts to start the discussion for a potential public safety levy next year.
Here are the three levels of potential funding presented to the commission:
If the “best” amount were to be put to voters via a public safety levy the increase to local property taxes could be as high as 191%.
Also, if scientists come up with an affordable hair growth pill next year I could once again have a full, luxurious head of handsome wavy curls on my head.
That’s “if” and “could”, not “when” and “will”.
There is no proposal to raise our property taxes 191%. There are only discussion starting points and data points for consideration and public input.
If and when the voters are presented with a public safety levy to adequately fund our cops, courts, and firefighters it will only be after thorough public vetting and discussion.
The “they’re raising our taxes 191%” is a false alarm. The City is not doing that, rest assured.
On Election Day a few weeks ago Cascade County voters voted to approve a 3% local option tax on recreational adult use marijuana sales countywide.
On the same ballot, Great Falls voters approved commercial marijuana activities, weed shops etc., within Great Falls city limits.
In light of those decisions by local voters I will be pursuing an initiative to designate all of the tax revenue generated through weed sales coming to the City of Great Falls to go to funding our city’s public safety needs – police, fire department, and courts.
A couple of things to note regarding this:
Current zoning regulations limit commercial marijuana activities in Great Falls to areas zoned Industrial 1 and Industrial 2. Considering the people’s vote on this issue, I believe that it is appropriate to continue the zoning conversation and get as much public input from stakeholders as possible going forward.
Only 45% of the 3% tax collected by the County will be distributed by formula to the incorporated towns within Cascade County, of which Great Falls is the largest, so revenue expectations should be tempered. This isn’t a magic money tree.
I am working on getting some solid numbers on what we can expect given the current and projected potential revenue from weed sales and will update the public as soon as possible.
While I agree with Tammie that my hometown Great Falls is an awesome and wonderful place to live I have to scratch my head a little at a couple of the observations she makes in the article.
The very first sentence in the piece is, “Apparently, I’m in the minority of people who love living in Great Falls.” No, Tammie is not in the minority. The majority of us Great Fallsians love living here because we recognize how special this place is.
No Back Turning Here
Another comment that Tammie makes in her article is, “Even in a Great Falls that has turned it’s back on the middle and lower class.” Sorry Tammie, but nothing could be further from the truth.
There are dozens of non-profit and volunteer organizations with hundreds of dedicated local folks working 24/7/365 helping the “middle and lower class” in Great Falls.
The City allocates hundreds of thousands of dollars every year in CDBG and other federal funding to help create more opportunities for lower income families and individuals in this community.
Great Falls is filled with good and decent folks who donate their time and resources to helping others. We’re not turning our backs on anyone here.
Does Great Falls ‘Let’ The Right One In?
A third head-scratching comment in the article is, “Even in a Great Falls that won’t let a chain ANYTHING in town, so the middle and lower class are forced to shop elsewhere because $150 for a pair of sweats or $200 for dinner for 2 are out of reach.”
That represents a common misconception that someone, somewhere in town is in charge of deciding which businesses can or cannot locate in Great Falls.
While City zoning codes and development policies can have a minor impact on where national chain stores decide to locate, that decision is almost completely determined by market and demographic factors, not by some entity in the City deciding to ‘let’ a business open.
Is Great Falls perfect? Certainly not. Is there a need to change and make improvements here? Absolutely.
We can love our town and seek to make it better at the same time.
Ready Or Not, Great Falls Is Going To See Growth And Change
Heads up, Great Falls, Halloween is this coming Monday.
‘Candy’ that looks like Skittles or Sweet Tarts could actually contain fentanyl.
If you think this poison, or other harmful stuff, could never get into YOUR kids’ trick or treat candy you’re whistling past the graveyard.
At our 10/18/22 regular meeting the Great Falls City Commission received a report from the local High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas task force that we have had 15 fatal fentanyl overdoses so far this year in Great Falls/Cascade County.
Be Smart. Be Safe.
Make sure a responsible adult accompanies your children when they go trick or treating.
Check and double check ALL treats before consuming.
Throw out any treats not in original, sealed packaging.
Halloween is supposed to be fun-scary, not real-scary. But we live in a world and a time when real evil exists – like people who make and export candy colored fentanyl into our neighborhoods.
So please, please be extra careful this Halloween.
I noticed this post (screenshot below) on the Great Falls Tribune Facebook page this morning and had to scratch my noggin a bit.
The Facebook blurb above the picture doesn’t jibe with the headline below the picture.
The caption below the picture is accurate, the sentence above the picture is an uninformed opinion presented as a “news” item.
Saying that the “Great Falls City Commission is asking voters to prohibit all types of marijuana businesses from operating in Great Falls city limits” is either an intentional misreporting of fact meant to mislead readers, or it’s a failure to understand the simple basics of how and why issues are placed on a local ballot.
The Great Falls City Commission is NOT asking local voters to do anything other than vote on the issue of whether or not they want weed shops and other types of marijuana businesses inside city limits.
The placement of the ballot question is in accordance with Montana Code Annotated, specifically authorized under HB 701
The Commission is NOT advocating one way or the other or “asking voters to prohibit” weed businesses here. Period.
A vote “For” is a vote for prohibiting weed shops etc. in Great Falls city limits.
A vote “Against” is a vote against prohibiting weed shops etc. in Great Falls city limits.
As a side note, this upcoming ballot question is NOT a “local legalization” or “local repeal legalization” vote as some have suggested.
That issue was decided and settled in 2020 when MT voters voted in favor of I-190, legalizing adult use recreational weed statewide.
Back in the summer of 2020 the ‘Defund The Police’ movement had reached a crescendo and was spreading, even becoming a popular rallying cry for the ‘progressive’ left here in Great Falls.
There were local protests and calls for defunding our own Great Falls Police Department as well as accusations of racism against local law enforcement.
Here is an excerpt from an email form letter sent to the Great Falls City Commission in June 2020. I received over a dozen of these emails that month, from both local and out-of-town senders:
“…I am demanding that real change be made to the way this city allocates its resources.
Support for communities in need is necessary now, more than ever. I am demanding that the City Commission meaningfully defund the Great Falls Police Department. I join the calls of those across the country to defund the police. I am demanding a budget that adequately and effectively meets the needs of at-risk Great Falls residents during this trying and uncertain time. I am demanding a budget that supports community wellbeing, rather than empowering the police forces that tear them apart.“
At the time it was obvious to anyone watching events unfold locally that several Great Falls Democrat candidates for the legislature were helping in organizing and supporting the protests and were driving some of the ‘Defund’ and related narrative.
Helena Lovick, now Vice Chair of the Cascade County Democratic Central Committee, and far left activist and CCDCC precinct captain Jasmine Taylor were among the most vocal.
That was then, this is now, and the hot rhetoric of the time has cooled in the face of the reality that public safety demands full funding for our local criminal justice system and law enforcement. What was hip and trendy for many at the time, ‘Defunding The Police’, is now seen as absurd and dangerous by citizens concerned about the safety of their families and neighborhoods.
And now that we are currently in the midst of a campaign for state legislature I have a serious question for local candidates: Exactly where do you stand on the issue of public safety and on funding and supporting our law enforcement folks?
That question goes to all of our local legislative candidates regardless of political party, but due to her past statements on the issue it’s important that one of them in particular clarify her position.
Democrat Melissa Smith, the losing candidate for HD20 in 2020, now running in HD23, and Secretary for the Cascade County Democratic Central Committee, has posted some troubling tweets concerning local law enforcement and public safety. Here are a few examples.
So, as a Great Falls City Commissioner and citizen who takes the issue of public safety very, very seriously and considers it the most important priority for government at all levels, I sincerely hope that Smith will clarify her positions on and attitudes towards law enforcement as she goes around town campaigning for public office.
I’m not under any illusions that she, or any other politician who may have said one thing then and another now, will respond to the question (though they should), but I am encouraging Great Falls voters to ask candidates what they said and thought about ‘Defund The Police’ back when it was a fad.
Ask them directly when you encounter them at your door, campaign events, or anywhere else.
Or you can email them. Here is Smith’s email address – MelissaSmith4HD23@gmail.com
If candidate Smith’s past statements aren’t an accurate reflection of her thinking or an indication of how she would help shape and fund public safety policy if she were elected to state office then voters need to know that. It’s perfectly acceptable to honestly change ones views over time.
But it is wrong for candidates to avoid the issue and hide their actual beliefs right before an election because they think their true position will cost them votes.
In the last week I have received several communications and comments concerning the current situation at the First United Methodist Church.
Folks are concerned that the increasing number of transients and ‘unhoused’ individuals once again congregating on the FUMC property will result in the return of the tent/camper encampment, which was recently vacated from the parking lot there.
It is important to point out that the church grounds are private property and the church is not pursuing trespassing violations against the folks congregating there.
The City of Great Falls will not, and should not, seek to remove anyone from church property as long as they are not breaking any laws.
The tent encampment was an entirely different issue from a legal standpoint because the church was in clear violation of City zoning ordinances prohibiting camping in that zoning jurisdiction. That is why the City sought a legal remedy, which was ultimately unnecessary because the church voluntarily removed the encampment before the judge issued a ruling or the issue was litigated in court.
One of the concerns I have heard is that some of the folks hanging out on church property are also obstructing public sidewalks in the area. I relayed that concern to police chief Newton and he has responded that the patrol bureau is aware and that if an “…officer determines individuals to be actively and purposefully blocking sidewalks to impede its use in violation of section 12 of the City Code, we will require them to stop doing so.”
I hope this update and clarification is helpful for those who have questions.
This is super fun and super easy. Good clean competition for a good cause.
If you’ve never played fantasy football don’t worry, it’s simple.
Nothing to do but join the league, draft your team and pick your weekly lineup. You can do it all on your phone or computer from anywhere.
1/2 point ppr
$20 buy in
10 teams – each representing a local charity/non-profit.
End of season, $100 goes to the winning team’s charity. $50 goes to the first place team ‘head coach’, $25 to second place, to keep or do with whatever they want.
I think there will also be some opportunities to raise more money for the charities with weekly team “wagers”.
Gotta hurry though, our remote draft is 1:00 PM on Sunday 9/4.
