By Josh Margolis
HAVRE, Mont. (NMB) – Great Falls City Manager Greg Doyon was the guest speaker at a town hall meeting in Havre on Monday evening.
There were about a dozen people in attendance, most of whom were city officials.
This comes as the Havre City Council prepares to put a resolution on the November ballot that, if approved, would see the city begin the process of hiring a City Manager.
Mayor Doug Kaercher stated at the meeting that Alderman Andrew Brekke is working on drafting up a resolution that will be voted on by the full council at their August 1st meeting.
Kaercher currently holds the positions of both Finance Director and Mayor, and says he will be stepping down as Finance Director sometime after the election.
If the voters approve the resolution, the City Manager would absorb the duties of a Finance Director. If the resolution does not pass, Kaercher says he would continue serving as Mayor, but the city would need to find a new Finance Director.
The transition to a form of government led by a City Manager would likely take 5-6 months, according to Doyon. Kaercher said that he would like to see a Manager hired by July of 2023, which marks the start of their fiscal year.
Because Havre voters approved a charter in the 2020 election, the city would continue with a Council form of government even if there were to be a City Manager, as any change to the charter would have to be done through an additional ballot measure.
The Mayor would likely still decide issues in the case of a tie vote of the council, but their power would be greatly diminished, as the City Manager would handle much of their current duties, as they would serve as the Chief Executive of the City.
Unlike Mayors, City Managers are hired following a recruiting process and sign a contract for terms such as three-years. The City Council has the ability to extend or even terminate a contract.
Doyon said that upsides of having a City Manager includes continuity through elections and having the ability to hire someone experienced in risk management and finances while also having residents continue to be able to keep the lead official accountable. Doyon says Manages is supposed to act in an apolitical fashion.
“If that Manager belongs to an organization called ICMA (International City Managers Association), there is a code of ethics that they ascribe to and basically have to follow. They are not even allowed to put a political sign on their lawn during an election to keep themselves from appearing in any way, shape, or form that they are biased towards one party or another, because they are there to serve all the residents in the community.”
Doyon stated that potential downsides include dealing with significant change and fear of the unknown. He says some of these concerns can be rectified by having a public meeting with the City Manager before the first day on the and iron out their duties. From then on, it is crucial for the City Officials and the public to continue to communicate with the City Manager to ensure everyone is on the same page.
Alderwoman Sarah McKinney expressed concern about finding a Manager for Havre in the current job market, but Doyon said there are some attractive attributes of the role.
“Montana is an attractive state to move to. So as people are kind of reevaluating what their goals in life are and what kind of quality of life they want, Montana has something to offer that a lot of people in urban areas don’t necessarily (have).”
One concern expressed by attendees was trying to ensure they explain to the public that moving to a form of government led by a Manager would not cost the City much, if anything, in the short term, and could save them from expenses down the line.
“The Mayor and the Finance Director that we have now, those are two paid positions,” said Public Works Director Doug Peterson. “So the Mayor is a $30,000 a year position, and the Finance Director, starting out, I’d say is going to be $65,000-$70,000. If the City was to go to a (Manager) form, the Mayor’s position would be greatly reduced, so that pay would go away considerably. So those two positions combined would be about $95,000-$100,000 that you would already be paying.”
The exact role of City Managers vary based on how the municipality is governed. For Great Falls, there are four City Commissioners, a Mayor, and a City Manager.
