Category: City Commission

E-City Beat recently submitted three questions to each of the six Great Falls city commission candidates and published the responses from the four who answered our request. Tracy Houck and Jasmine Taylor did not respond.

We thought it would be helpful to post each question one at a time and include each of the candidates responses together so voters can compare.

Do you consider the current relationship between the city commission and the citizens of Great Falls to reflect an adequate level of mutual trust, respect and engagement and how would you improve that relationship?

Bruce Pollington

The City Commission continues in its efforts to be completely open and transparent in all its activities. Commission work sessions and Commission meetings are open to the public and simulcast to the community. In addition, they are recorded and made available on the City’s web site. The City holds scheduled public information/comment meetings when appropriate as well as public comment periods in every Commission meeting. The City’s web site is an excellent source for Commission, government and community information. When major issues are under consideration, mailings are sent to citizens which provide basic information and web links for more detailed information.

Conversely, citizens have an obligation to seek information regarding issues that concern them. The City’s web site is a great place to start, but one of the best methods is through the City’s nine Neighborhood Councils. The Councils are a two-way conduit for information to and from City Government. Citizens can get information and clarification on neighborhood and city-wide issues as well as have their comments and concerns transferred to City Government.

Engagement is a two-way street. Ongoing participation and desire for improvement by Commissioners and citizens alike is essential for government to be effective from both viewpoints. At the same time trust and respect can only be accomplished through appropriate, two-way engagement. Increased engagement in Neighborhood Councils and Commission Meetings by citizens and City Government officials will automatically increase trust and respect.

Rick Tryon

No, the level of trust is not what it should be. The lack of transparency and the conflicts of interest in our city commission have done great damage to the public trust. The remedy is to elect city commissioners who will unfailingly adhere to the Title 2, Chapter 21 Code of Ethics requirements in the city code.

Kim Rodriguez

I don’t feel the current relationship between the citizens and City Commissioners is a positive one. Due to the past actions of closed door meetings, lying, taking funds for personal gains and lack of transparency. As a citizen of Great Falls I know our needs and desires are at the very bottom of the spectrum.

Our city government needs to realize they work for the citizens. The only way to make a change is to vote. Vote for two candidates that have no personal agenda! Candidates that will put citizens first! We have to make a change with in our City Commission to see a positive change for Great Falls.

Terry Thompson

No, I would say it’s not at an adequate level by either the commission or citizens. Creating better communication and trust between the public and commissioners is one of my priorities. Constituents who have talked to me prior to and during the campaign have voiced frustration about the lack of access to commissioners. Citizens feel the commissioners have their minds made up before a vote so why should they participate in the public hearings. Clearly, citizens may not be familiar with the work sessions that are open to the public, and are where commissioners discuss city business weeks prior to any vote.

I believe the key is educating the public on how city government works and where to find the information. Last year the city hosted City 101 Academy – Building Community Engagement. I encourage staff to proceed with conducting future sessions.

I served two terms on Neighborhood Council 3 where no more than three or four neighbors were present at any meeting. As a candidate, I will have visited eight of the nine councils. With the exception of Council 5 conducting the candidate forum that was well attended, there are very few neighbors in attendance at these meetings. It’s unfortunate because the councils are a great place to gather information and share concerns because they have direct access to commissioners and staff. As a commissioner, I will visit the councils periodically to interact with citizens directly.

E-City Beat recently submitted three questions to each of the six Great Falls city commission candidates and published the responses from the four who answered our request. Tracy Houck and Jasmine Taylor did not respond.

We thought it would be helpful to post each question one at a time and include each of the candidates responses together so voters can compare.

What do you consider to be the most important issue for Great Falls right now and if elected how would you respond to it. Please be as specific as possible by describing why you consider the issue to be the most important and the action you feel is necessary to address it?

Kim Rodriguez

One of the important issues Great Falls is facing, is the priority of Public safety.

Crime in Great Falls, Montana

Great Falls violent crime is 21.8. (The US average is 22.7)
Great Falls property crime is 65.2. (The US average is 35.4)

Statistics from https://www.bestplaces.net/crime/city/montana/great_falls

Violent crime is composed of four offenses: murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.

Property crime includes the offenses of burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. The object of the theft-type offenses is the taking of money or property, but there is no force or threat of force against the victims.

Great Falls Police Department needs more officers on Patrol.
There are approximately 6 officers on a shift. This number goes down due to vacations or sick calls. With the high call volume they deal with, it is extremely hard for them to be expected to randomly patrol areas to deter crime or actively stop it while it is occurring. To better serve the community there should be at least 8 officers on patrol per shift.

I feel this has to become a priority when doing the yearly budget. If the City Commissioners could meet ahead of the timeline for the budget and decide on what is most important, and plan a 5 year or more commitment to add 1 or 2 officers each year. By doing this, it allows the City Manager to know what is expected prior to putting the budget together.

I don’t like the idea of citizens voting on a safety levy. We should be voting on recreational such as parks, pools, how many trees that need to be planted or what graphics to put on a water tower ect…

Safety with in our city is a right not an option!

Rick Tryon

According to the US Census Bureau interim report released in February of this year, in an 8-year span between 2010 and 2018:

• Gallatin County (Bozeman/Belgrade) population increased 22,363 = 25% growth.
• Flathead County (Kalispell) population increased 11,179 = 12.3% growth.
• Missoula County population increased 9495 = 8.7% growth.
• Lewis & Clark County (Helena) population increased 5305 = 8.4% growth.
• Yellowstone County (Billings) population increased 12,155 = 8.2% growth.
• Silver Bow County (Butte) population increased 784 = 2.3% growth.
• Cascade County (Great Falls) population increased 320 = 0.4% growth.

If we don’t change this trend we will not have the tax base or resources necessary to adequately fund quality public education, public safety, or infrastructure going forward, because those costs will continue to rise while we continue to struggle to remain stagnant – and we won’t be able to maintain and grow the modern workforce necessary to attract and retain business.

Like it or not, ready or not, we are competing with other state and regional cities for resources, taxpayers, and the growth necessary to prosper in the 21st-century.

One of our top priorities must be to create a local environment conducive to better jobs and more opportunities for ALL of our citizens – starting with a streamlined development process, an unmistakable ‘open for business’ attitude and a new culture within our city of ‘How can we help you?’, rather than ‘You can’t do that here!’

Terry Thompson

I believe the lack of population growth to be the most important issue. We can’t grow our tax base without an increase in population and development. I have seen first-hand that one of the reasons is because Great Falls has a reputation for being non-development friendly. Developers are building homes and commercial businesses in the County where the regulations are less, time-frames are shorter, and costs are predictable. This directly decreases the tax base to bring needed services to the city and our school system.

We need affordable workforce housing so existing businesses can recruit employees, and new businesses will trust we have the resources for potential employees to view Great Falls as a desirable place to live and work.

The permit numbers for the last five years identify that homes are primarily being built in the County by double the amounts being built in the City.

Permit Totals for Single Family Homes

2019  2018  2017  2016  2015

Great Falls                               33    45      54     52      39

Cascade County                       63    89    108     87      71

We must decrease the over regulation and partner with land owners and developers to jointly create a vision of how we want our city to grow.

Bruce Pollington

While there are several issues that need to be addressed or need to continue to be addressed, I believe that our most important issue is population growth. According to data released from our Development Authority, Great Falls has the second lowest per-capita personal and commercial property taxes of any city in Montana. If we are to raise the funds needed to properly insure public safety, add to and maintain our city’s infrastructure and promote growth we need to increase tax income to the city. I believe that the best way to accomplish that is to add to our businesses and population and thereby spread the required tax income across a larger number of tax payers.

Accomplishing that is not a simple or short term task. The second goal listed on the City Commission’s list of goals is, “Manage growth to preserve our resources, environment, and sense of community.” I couldn’t agree more with that goal. As is obvious by the number of “Help Wanted” and “Now Hiring” signs in front of city businesses, we don’t need more jobs as much as we need more high salary jobs that require education, skill and experience. With our current unemployment rate at less than 3%, a business seeking new employees will almost certainly have to “steal” them from other local businesses. In addition, the current shortage of appropriate housing for medium to higher income workers inhibits business efforts to recruit those workers to our city.

       

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E-City Beat recently submitted three questions to each of the six Great Falls city commission candidates and published the responses from the four who answered our request. Tracy Houck and Jasmine Taylor did not respond.

We thought it would be helpful to post each question one at a time and include each of the candidates responses together so voters can compare.

Do you or any of your immediate family members, business partners, employer, or employees hold any positions, professional or volunteer, recent past or present, that would constitute a conflict of interest, or appearance thereof, for you while conducting city business as a commissioner? If so how would you deal with the potential conflict?

 

Terry Thompson

No, currently I am not sitting on any boards and have declined two offers since I filed as a candidate. Professionally, I lead the Realtor advocacy efforts with community projects related to homeless and disadvantaged youth. Currently, I am participating in the Converge task force comprised of various community members that is meeting to create a youth resource center under the direction of Alliance for Youth. My husband and step-son are on the MT Expo Park Board which is a board of the County not the City.

I have been a certified Professional Standards Administrator for the Great Falls Association of Realtors for 12 years. In this capacity, I manage the code of ethics complaint process between the public and Realtors, and complaints between Realtors. I think it’s unfortunate the city had to create an ethics board.

I have a clear understanding and responsibility to remove myself from any potential conflict of interest while conducting city business.

 

Bruce Pollington

In a word, no. I have been retired for ten years and hold no particular allegiance to any of my former employers or coworkers. My wife, Roxanne, works for Easterseals Goodwill and my son, Sean, is a mechanic at Lithia. While I am proud of them and the work that they do, I hold no allegiance to their employers. Same holds for the boards of directors on which I served. I have resigned from the River’s Edge Trail Board of directors and from the EPA/DEQ Technical Advisory Group. I have chosen to remain on the Missouri-Madison River Fund Board based on assurances from the Great Falls City Attorney and the River Fund that doing so does not present any conflict of interest concerns.

Editors note: After Pollingtons original response it was brought to our attention by a reader that his wife, Roxanne Klose, is a past president of the Animal Foundation and that along with Owen Robinson she went before a city commission work session in October 2016 to advocate for a taxpayer funded partnership between the city and the MacLean Animal Adoption Center. You can find Pollington’s response here.

 

Kim Rodriguez

I have no potential conflicts of interest as a City Commissioner. In light of this if it were to come up, I would be honest beforehand, follow protocol and recuse myself.

 

 

 

 

 

Rick Tryon

I’ve been a community volunteer for many years and for different organizations and causes, including the following:

• Founder of the Local Artists and Musicians Project, for which I received the Bread Winner Award from Wheat Montana for volunteerism raising resources for the Great Falls Community Food Bank.
• Received the RSVP Presidential Silver Award for volunteering locally in the Retired Senior Volunteer Program.
• Volunteer driver for the American Cancer Society’s Road to Recovery program.
• Volunteer reader for Great Falls Clinic’s Reach Out & Read program.
• Board member and Chair of the Mansfield Center for the Performing Arts advisory board.
• First and several time volunteer performer for the Four Seasons Sports Foundation fundraisers.
• 2016 and 2017 winner of the Mighty Mo Charity Sing Off, raising the most money for the local Casa-Can and Make-A-Wish Foundation, Downtown Great Falls Association Christmas Tree Fund and the Great Falls Clinic Legacy Foundation Bumble Bee Fund.

However, I’m not currently involved in those or any other organizations with business before the city commission.

I’m not a candidate because I have a personal pet project I want to work on, an organization or “special” part of town I want to “help”, or an agenda to accomplish for friends or family.

I’m running so that the average citizens in Great Falls who’ve been left out of the conversation for too long have a clear voice and a sharp pair of ears on our city commission. No special attention or treatment for anyone. Period.

I don’t foresee any conflicts of interest arising if I were to serve as a commissioner. But if a conflict were to come up I would deal with it by strictly adhering to the Title 2, Chapter 21 Code of Ethics requirements, going above and beyond in full disclosure before the matter is vetted, and by recusal from the issue if necessary.

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One of the three questions E-City Beat recently sent to all of the Great Falls city commission candidates is the following:

Do you or any of your immediate family members, business partners, employer, or employees hold any positions, professional or volunteer, recent past or present, that would constitute a conflict of interest, or appearance thereof, for you while conducting city business as a commissioner? If so how would you deal with the potential conflict?

After publishing candidate Bruce Pollington’s response to this and the other questions we received this email from one of our readers.

After looking into the concerns raised in this email, I discovered the information to be accurate.

Following is an excerpt from the minutes of the October 18, 2016 city commission work session which Mr. Pollingtons wife, Roxanne Klose, attended on behalf of the Animal Foundation/Maclean Animal Adoption Center:

“Maclean Animal Adoption Center (MAAC) Board of Trustees members: President Roxanne Klose, Jeremiah Johnson, and Past President Owen Robinson, reviewed and discussed the attached PowerPoint presentation.

President Klose reported that the purpose of this meeting was to investigate the opportunity and ultimately establish a positive and beneficial collaboration between the City and MAAC. She discussed the mission of MAAC and the facility amenities.

Trustee Johnson discussed reasons the Board of Trustees of the MAAC sees in exploring collaboration, noting complementary areas of strength that could be combined. He reported that over $4.5 million dollars was raised in cash donations over the past 13 years to help build the MAAC facility. He further reported that the trustees prepared an analysis of the 2015 City Animal Shelter and MAAC financials and concluded that collaboration could add to the income category through fundraising and could reduce reliance on taxpayer dollars to fund Animal Shelter operations.

Past President Robinson commented that it is not part of the board’s proposal to request that the City take on debt. The board is asking the Commission to vote to instruct the City Manager to meet with MAAC representatives to work out and present a plan of collaboration within sixty (60) days. The board believes (1) the City should operate the MAAC facility with its employees; (2) the mortgage on the building should be paid off by the Animal Foundation, d/b/a the MAAC; and (3) everything else the City and board should collaborate on.”

And here is a television report from ABC FOX Montana covering the same meeting:
https://www.abcfoxmontana.com/news/maclean-animal-adoption-center-seeks-city-oversight/article_45bda63d-d8ba-53a5-ab61-97e4762c01de.html

I then sent the following email to Mr. Pollington:

“Hi Bruce,

After we published your response to one of our questions, copied below, we received an email from one of our readers informing us that although you did mention your wife Roxanne’s employment at Easter Seals in your response, you did not include that she is a past president of the Animal Foundation. You also didn’t mention that along with Owen Robinson she went before a city commission work session in October 2016 to advocate for a taxpayer funded partnership between the city and the MacLean Animal Adoption Center.

For clarification purposes I’d like to ask a follow-up question: since the issue of a potential City of Great Falls/MCAAC partnership has been a serious topic and an issue of major public concern very recently and will almost certainly come up before the commission during your tenure if you’re elected, do you consider your wife’s previous involvement and advocacy in favor of the taxpayers being responsible for MCAAC operations to present a potential conflict of interest for you, and if so would you recuse yourself from any city commission votes on that issue?

Thank you for your commitment to our community.

Philip Faccenda
Editor/Publisher
E-City Beat”

 

Here is Pollingtons response to my request for clarification, with an inserted editors note:

“Mr. Faccenda

In answer to your follow-up question referencing my wife’s previous association with MCAAC I offer the following information. I was remiss in not mentioning it in your earlier question regarding potential conflicts of interest.

My wife, Roxanne Klose, joined the Animal Foundation Board as part of her efforts to participate in the betterment of Great Falls. She was subsequently elected as president of that Board. I, too, occasionally volunteered at MAAC as a dog handler and trainer. In October of 2016 Roxanne participated in a proposal presentation to the City Commission Work Session. The Animal Foundation Board suggested that discussions be initiated between then MAAC and the City to explore the possibility of a collaborative agreement between the two entities. The goal of the agreement would be to improve animal care in our community and reduce associated costs. As I recall, the City declined that offer based largely on concerns about the more than one million dollars in outstanding MAAC construction debt.

One important correction to your follow-up question, I don’t believe that my wife nor anyone else from the Animal Foundation Board suggested that taxpayers should pay for MAAC operations. In addition, based on the July 2, 2019 discussion update presented at the Commission Work Session, I don’t believe anyone else is advocating that either.

(Editors note: from the ABC FOX Montana piece linked above – 

‘Tuesday night the Animal Foundation’s board of trustees, who oversee the Maclean Animal Adoption Center, asked the Great Falls city commission to explore the possibility of combining their operations.

The trustees proposed that the city should take over operations of the facility, while the board would continue paying off $1.7 million dollars in loans that helped build it.

The board explained it relies solely on fundraising efforts to pay for daily operations.

Former President of the board Owen Robinson admitted that although it recently received a large estate to cover daily operations, it would still be difficult to continue operations without the city’s help.

“We never ever built the building with the idea of running it,” Robinson said.

The board’s current President Roxanne Klose agrees, saying that taxpayer money would help keep the facility afloat.’) emphasis added.

With the possibility of cooperative discussions off the table, Roxanne and the Foundation Board set about raising funds needed to retire the construction debt. If memory serves, they accomplished that task in January or February of 2018. On June 12 of 2018, Roxanne resigned from the MCAAC Board and I stopped serving as a volunteer at the facility so we could commit more time to other interests. Neither she nor I have had any interactions with staff or Board members at MCAAC since that time. Roxanne and I became aware that the City and MCAAC were once again exploring cooperative options when a discussion update was presented at the City Commission Work Session I attended on July 2, 2019. Neither she nor I have been approached for our opinions or participation in that process. Neither of us harbor any ill will nor any particular loyalties toward MCAAC.

As for any potential conflict of interest concerns should I get elected as a City Commissioner, my approach to the issue would be based on two factors. First, if the Mayor, Members of the Commission or City Attorney express conflict of interest concerns I would recuse myself from voting on the issue. Second, I would advocate for two vital elements if an agreement is proposed: That such an agreement offers improvements in animal adoption services and that it offers a reduction in taxpayer costs for those services.”

I appreciate Mr. Pollingtons prompt response to our original questions and to my request for clarification.

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Editors note – last month we asked each of the six candidates running for the Great Falls city commission to submit answers to three specific questions. We will be publishing the answers from the candidates who responded, in the order we received the responses, exactly as submitted and without editorial comment, starting today.

 

Kim Rodriguez

What do you consider to be the most important issue for Great Falls right now and if elected how would you respond to it. Please be as specific as possible by describing why you consider the issue to be the most important and the action you feel is necessary to address it?

One of the important issues Great Falls is facing, is the priority of Public safety.

Crime in Great Falls, Montana

Great Falls violent crime is 21.8. (The US average is 22.7)
Great Falls property crime is 65.2. (The US average is 35.4)

Statistics from https://www.bestplaces.net/crime/city/montana/great_falls

Violent crime is composed of four offenses: murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.

Property crime includes the offenses of burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. The object of the theft-type offenses is the taking of money or property, but there is no force or threat of force against the victims.

Great Falls Police Department needs more officers on Patrol.
There are approximately 6 officers on a shift. This number goes down due to vacations or sick calls. With the high call volume they deal with, it is extremely hard for them to be expected to randomly patrol areas to deter crime or actively stop it while it is occurring. To better serve the community there should be at least 8 officers on patrol per shift.

I feel this has to become a priority when doing the yearly budget. If the City Commissioners could meet ahead of the timeline for the budget and decide on what is most important, and plan a 5 year or more commitment to add 1 or 2 officers each year. By doing this, it allows the City Manager to know what is expected prior to putting the budget together.

I don’t like the idea of citizens voting on a safety levy. We should be voting on recreational such as parks, pools, how many trees that need to be planted or what graphics to put on a water tower ect…

Safety with in our city is a right not an option!

Do you or any of your immediate family members, business partners, employer, or employees hold any positions, professional or volunteer, recent past or present, that would constitute a conflict of interest, or appearance thereof, for you while conducting city business as a commissioner? If so how would you deal with the potential conflict?

I have no potential conflicts of interest as a City Commissioner. In light of this if it were to come up, I would be honest beforehand, follow protocol and recuse myself.

Do you consider the current relationship between the city commission and the citizens of Great Falls to reflect an adequate level of mutual trust, respect and engagement and how would you improve that relationship?

I don’t feel the current relationship between the citizens and City Commissioners is a positive one. Due to the past actions of closed door meetings, lying, taking funds for personal gains and lack of transparency. As a citizen of Great Falls I know our needs and desires are at the very bottom of the spectrum.

Our city government needs to realize they work for the citizens. The only way to make a change is to vote. Vote for two candidates that have no personal agenda! Candidates that will put citizens first! We have to make a change with in our City Commission to see a positive change for Great Falls.

Kim Rodriguez

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Editors note – last month we asked each of the six candidates running for the Great Falls city commission to submit answers to three specific questions. We will be publishing the answers from the candidates who responded, in the order we received the responses, exactly as submitted and without editorial comment, starting today.

 

Terry Thompson

What do you consider to be the most important issue for Great Falls right now and if elected how would you respond to it. Please be as specific as possible by describing why you consider the issue to be the most important and the action you feel is necessary to address it?

I believe the lack of population growth to be the most important issue. We can’t grow our tax base without an increase in population and development. I have seen first-hand that one of the reasons is because Great Falls has a reputation for being non-development friendly. Developers are building homes and commercial businesses in the County where the regulations are less, time-frames are shorter, and costs are predictable. This directly decreases the tax base to bring needed services to the city and our school system.

We need affordable workforce housing so existing businesses can recruit employees, and new businesses will trust we have the resources for potential employees to view Great Falls as a desirable place to live and work.

The permit numbers for the last five years identify that homes are primarily being built in the County by double the amounts being built in the City.

Permit Totals for Single Family Homes

2019  2018  2017  2016  2015

Great Falls                               33    45      54     52      39

Cascade County                       63    89    108     87      71

We must decrease the over regulation and partner with land owners and developers to jointly create a vision of how we want our city to grow.

Do you or any of your immediate family members, business partners, employer, or employees hold any positions, professional or volunteer, recent past or present, that would constitute a conflict of interest, or appearance thereof, for you while conducting city business as a commissioner? If so how would you deal with the potential conflict?

No, currently I am not sitting on any boards and have declined two offers since I filed as a candidate. Professionally, I lead the Realtor advocacy efforts with community projects related to homeless and disadvantaged youth. Currently, I am participating in the Converge task force comprised of various community members that is meeting to create a youth resource center under the direction of Alliance for Youth. My husband and step-son are on the MT Expo Park Board which is a board of the County not the City.

I have been a certified Professional Standards Administrator for the Great Falls Association of Realtors for 12 years. In this capacity, I manage the code of ethics complaint process between the public and Realtors, and complaints between Realtors. I think it’s unfortunate the city had to create an ethics board.

I have a clear understanding and responsibility to remove myself from any potential conflict of interest while conducting city business.

Do you consider the current relationship between the city commission and the citizens of Great Falls to reflect an adequate level of mutual trust, respect and engagement and how would you improve that relationship?

No, I would say it’s not at an adequate level by either the commission or citizens. Creating better communication and trust between the public and commissioners is one of my priorities. Constituents who have talked to me prior to and during the campaign have voiced frustration about the lack of access to commissioners. Citizens feel the commissioners have their minds made up before a vote so why should they participate in the public hearings. Clearly, citizens may not be familiar with the work sessions that are open to the public, and are where commissioners discuss city business weeks prior to any vote.

I believe the key is educating the public on how city government works and where to find the information. Last year the city hosted City 101 Academy – Building Community Engagement. I encourage staff to proceed with conducting future sessions.

I served two terms on Neighborhood Council 3 where no more than three or four neighbors were present at any meeting. As a candidate, I will have visited eight of the nine councils. With the exception of Council 5 conducting the candidate forum that was well attended, there are very few neighbors in attendance at these meetings. It’s unfortunate because the councils are a great place to gather information and share concerns because they have direct access to commissioners and staff. As a commissioner, I will visit the councils periodically to interact with citizens directly.

Terry Thompson
www.voteterrythompson.com

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_______________________________________________________________________

Editors note – last month we asked each of the six candidates running for the Great Falls city commission to submit answers to three specific questions. We will be publishing the answers from the candidates who responded, in the order we received the responses, exactly as submitted and without editorial comment, starting today.

 

Bruce Pollington

What do you consider to be the most important issue for Great Falls right now and if elected how would you respond to it. Please be as specific as possible by describing why you consider the issue to be the most important and the action you feel is necessary to address it?

While there are several issues that need to be addressed or need to continue to be addressed, I believe that our most important issue is population growth. According to data released from our Development Authority, Great Falls has the second lowest per-capita personal and commercial property taxes of any city in Montana. If we are to raise the funds needed to properly insure public safety, add to and maintain our city’s infrastructure and promote growth we need to increase tax income to the city. I believe that the best way to accomplish that is to add to our businesses and population and thereby spread the required tax income across a larger number of tax payers.

Accomplishing that is not a simple or short term task. The second goal listed on the City Commission’s list of goals is, “Manage growth to preserve our resources, environment, and sense of community.” I couldn’t agree more with that goal. As is obvious by the number of “Help Wanted” and “Now Hiring” signs in front of city businesses, we don’t need more jobs as much as we need more high salary jobs that require education, skill and experience. With our current unemployment rate at less than 3%, a business seeking new employees will almost certainly have to “steal” them from other local businesses. In addition, the current shortage of appropriate housing for medium to higher income workers inhibits business efforts to recruit those workers to our city.

Do you or any of your immediate family members, business partners, employer, or employees hold any positions, professional or volunteer, recent past or present, that would constitute a conflict of interest, or appearance thereof, for you while conducting city business as a commissioner? If so how would you deal with the potential conflict?

In a word, no. I have been retired for ten years and hold no particular allegiance to any of my former employers or coworkers. My wife, Roxanne, works for Easterseals Goodwill and my son, Sean, is a mechanic at Lithia. While I am proud of them and the work that they do, I hold no allegiance to their employers. Same holds for the boards of directors on which I served. I have resigned from the River’s Edge Trail Board of directors and from the EPA/DEQ Technical Advisory Group. I have chosen to remain on the Missouri-Madison River Fund Board based on assurances from the Great Falls City Attorney and the River Fund that doing so does not present any conflict of interest concerns.

Do you consider the current relationship between the city commission and the citizens of Great Falls to reflect an adequate level of mutual trust, respect and engagement and how would you improve that relationship?

The City Commission continues in its efforts to be completely open and transparent in all its activities. Commission work sessions and Commission meetings are open to the public and simulcast to the community. In addition, they are recorded and made available on the City’s web site. The City holds scheduled public information/comment meetings when appropriate as well

as public comment periods in every Commission meeting. The City’s web site is an excellent source for Commission, government and community information. When major issues are under consideration, mailings are sent to citizens which provide basic information and web links for more detailed information.

Conversely, citizens have an obligation to seek information regarding issues that concern them. The City’s web site is a great place to start, but one of the best methods is through the City’s nine Neighborhood Councils. The Councils are a two-way conduit for information to and from City Government. Citizens can get information and clarification on neighborhood and city-wide issues as well as have their comments and concerns transferred to City Government.

Engagement is a two-way street. Ongoing participation and desire for improvement by Commissioners and citizens alike is essential for government to be effective from both viewpoints. At the same time trust and respect can only be accomplished through appropriate, two-way engagement. Increased engagement in Neighborhood Councils and Commission Meetings by citizens and City Government officials will automatically increase trust and respect.

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_______________________________________________________________________

Editors note – last month we asked each of the six candidates running for the Great Falls city commission to submit answers to three specific questions. We will be publishing the answers from the candidates who responded, in the order we received the responses, exactly as submitted and without editorial comment, starting today.

 

Rick Tryon

What do you consider to be the most important issue for Great Falls right now and if elected how would you respond to it. Please be as specific as possible by describing why you consider the issue to be the most important and the action you feel is necessary to address it?

According to the US Census Bureau interim report released in February of this year, in an 8-year span between 2010 and 2018:

• Gallatin County (Bozeman/Belgrade) population increased 22,363 = 25% growth.
• Flathead County (Kalispell) population increased 11,179 = 12.3% growth.
• Missoula County population increased 9495 = 8.7% growth.
• Lewis & Clark County (Helena) population increased 5305 = 8.4% growth.
• Yellowstone County (Billings) population increased 12,155 = 8.2% growth.
• Silver Bow County (Butte) population increased 784 = 2.3% growth.
• Cascade County (Great Falls) population increased 320 = 0.4% growth.

If we don’t change this trend we will not have the tax base or resources necessary to adequately fund quality public education, public safety, or infrastructure going forward, because those costs will continue to rise while we continue to struggle to remain stagnant – and we won’t be able to maintain and grow the modern workforce necessary to attract and retain business.

Like it or not, ready or not, we are competing with other state and regional cities for resources, taxpayers, and the growth necessary to prosper in the 21st-century.

One of our top priorities must be to create a local environment conducive to better jobs and more opportunities for ALL of our citizens – starting with a streamlined development process, an unmistakable ‘open for business’ attitude and a new culture within our city of ‘How can we help you?’, rather than ‘You can’t do that here!’

Do you or any of your immediate family members, business partners, employer, or employees hold any positions, professional or volunteer, recent past or present, that would constitute a conflict of interest, or appearance thereof, for you while conducting city business as a commissioner? If so how would you deal with the potential conflict?

I’ve been a community volunteer for many years and for different organizations and causes, including the following:

• Founder of the Local Artists and Musicians Project, for which I received the Bread Winner Award from Wheat Montana for volunteerism raising resources for the Great Falls Community Food Bank.
• Received the RSVP Presidential Silver Award for volunteering locally in the Retired Senior Volunteer Program.
• Volunteer driver for the American Cancer Society’s Road to Recovery program.
• Volunteer reader for Great Falls Clinic’s Reach Out & Read program.
• Board member and Chair of the Mansfield Center for the Performing Arts advisory board.
• First and several time volunteer performer for the Four Seasons Sports Foundation fundraisers.
• 2016 and 2017 winner of the Mighty Mo Charity Sing Off, raising the most money for the local Casa-Can and Make-A-Wish Foundation, Downtown Great Falls Association Christmas Tree Fund and the Great Falls Clinic Legacy Foundation Bumble Bee Fund.

However, I’m not currently involved in those or any other organizations with business before the city commission.

I’m not a candidate because I have a personal pet project I want to work on, an organization or “special” part of town I want to “help”, or an agenda to accomplish for friends or family.

I’m running so that the average citizens in Great Falls who’ve been left out of the conversation for too long have a clear voice and a sharp pair of ears on our city commission. No special attention or treatment for anyone. Period.

I don’t foresee any conflicts of interest arising if I were to serve as a commissioner. But if a conflict were to come up I would deal with it by strictly adhering to the Title 2, Chapter 21 Code of Ethics requirements, going above and beyond in full disclosure before the matter is vetted, and by recusal from the issue if necessary.

Do you consider the current relationship between the city commission and the citizens of Great Falls to reflect an adequate level of mutual trust, respect and engagement and how would you improve that relationship?

No, the level of trust is not what it should be. The lack of transparency and the conflicts of interest in our city commission have done great damage to the public trust. The remedy is to elect city commissioners who will unfailingly adhere to the Title 2, Chapter 21 Code of Ethics requirements in the city code.

Rick Tryon
www.tryon4commission.com

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