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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStudy Plan Study Commission 1 City of Bozeman Study Commission Study Plan The Study Plan is one part of the planning process that also includes the Timeline, Communication Plan and the Engagement Plan which are posted on the website Plans & Reports | City Of Bozeman. This plan focuses on two of the five goals of the City of Bozeman Local Gov’t Study commission, and complements the last two goals that are addressed in the Communication Plan and Engagement Plan: • Educate ourselves and the community to develop a comprehensive understanding of the City of Bozeman’s current structure, Charter form, and the processes of local government. • Distill identified issues and provide information to the community in an accessible and approachable manner, including a draft and final report. • Conduct a transparent and inclusive study process that engages the community in evaluating our current structures and identifying any necessary changes. • Engage the community in the local government study process using a variety of methods to gather information regarding what’s working, what’s not working, and ideas to explore to improve the City’s governance. Throughout this process, there are several topics that need to be well understood by the Study Commissioners as well as the public. The City of Bozeman Charter is a complex document, and it is essential that we have a solid understanding of how the City of Bozeman operates currently, where there are areas for improvement, how to address solutions in the Charter and the legal parameters of the Charter. The Study Plan will increase our understanding of what is possible and not possible within the City Charter in each area of study. Each Study Commissioner comes with a varied understanding and background, and there are questions that need to be addressed. In addition, the public has presented Public Comments of topics of interest during the Public Hearing held on April 5, 2025 – both those who came in person as well as emails that have been sent and read by the Study Commissioners. Public Hearing Summaries of learning and inquiry were developed by each Study Commissioner, and can be found on the website Plans & Reports | City Of Bozeman 2 1. Phase 1 – learn how the City of Bozeman currently operates, what’s working and what could be changed • Hear from current and prior City staff, current and prior Commissioners, City Commission appointed Citizen Advisory Boards, Task Forces and Committee members • Learn about potential operational changes within the current City form and structure that may address some of the concerns • Ask the City Attorney and City Manager to walk us through the current Charter in detail, share what parts he finds to be a concern or hindrance, ideas for improvement and which arising topics are outside the purview of the Study Commission or are already prescribed in state law • Learn how the City of Bozeman currently engages the public, and ways to address the public comments that the public voices are not being included or addressed. How can the City’s Communication and Engagement systems between Staff, Citizen Advisory Boards, Commissioners and the Public be more effective to advance trust of Elected/appointed Officials and key decisions? Which of these can be addressed in the Charter? • Topics of interest include: (attached to each item is the reference to where this topic is listed in the current City Charter) o Budget Process and Financial Decisions (Article V) – How are financial decisions made? What role does the current Charter play in the decision-making process? What would be the best guidelines to put in the Charter in terms of financial decisions? If the Mayor and Commissioners were paid a full-time wage, how might that impact the budget? o Current Charter - strengths, limitations, and how this leads to oversight, empowered decision-making and identifies what might be missing from the current Charter and why. o Governance and Leadership Structure (Article II) – Balance of power between the executive and legislative branches within City government. Roles, responsibilities and duties of Mayor, City Manager (Article III), Commissioners and Departments (Section 4.01). How does our City’s Infrastructure (ie, Budget, programs, services, implementation of City and State human rights, etc.) impact the effectiveness of Governing and other Structures as a City? o Volunteer Advisory and Citizen Board Utilization and Management (Section 4.07) – How do we engage the Citizen Volunteer Leadership? What are impactful City-level 3 Advisory Structures to benefit City Strategic Goals? What is working and needs to change for these to be more effective? o Neighborhood Association Engagement (Section 4.06) - How do the current Neighborhood Associations operate? Do they represent all neighborhoods? How does the Inter-Neighborhood Council operate and function? How are the Chair and association members chosen? What power do they have and what decisions do they make? Does a City Commissioner sit on each one? o City Values and Quality of Life – How are these decisions made and under what strategy? How are the values of the City of Bozeman integrated into plan development? Walk us through the strategic planning process. o Land Use, Development and Environmental Planning (Section 4.04) - How does the current Charter affect the process of making decisions regarding growth and building? How are decisions made given the current Charter and Advisory Board structure? What could be added or change in the Charter to improve these decision- making processes? o One Bozeman - How do City Government decision-making elected members and City Staff interact with other stakeholders: what are the roles and relationships with Bozeman School Board, MSU-Bozeman, Gallatin Co. Commission and City-County programs/services? 2. Phase 2: Phase 2 of the study plan is to review and evaluate the impact of the current Charter, explore potential changes and understand the implications of any potential changes to the City government structure. The Study Commission is outlined in the Montana Code Annotated (MCA) and delegates the possible governing structures for City governments: Power, Form of Government and Plan Sub-options. For each of these items, there is information that needs to be understood in order to make recommendations for the City government. Phase 2 will include identification of outside entities and other communities that may provide insights into alternative approaches, and well as research on best practices. This is a brief description of each step, and they need to be completed in this order: • Power: This choice determines how the City of Bozeman can exercise power and authority offered by the Montana legislature. Options are: General vs Self-governance. The City of Bozeman currently has Self-government powers. This means that the City of Bozeman may exercise any power not explicitly denied by the state legislature. 4 • Form of Government: There are a number of forms of government that can be adopted by the City of Bozeman that are outlined in the MCA, Title 7, Chapter 3. This determines the relationship between the legislative and executive branches of the City of Bozeman regarding decision-making, veto power. The City of Bozeman currently has a Charter form that establishes a Commission-Manager form. These are listed clearly in the MCA. • Points of study involved in this level of decision-making include the following: o City Manager (Article III) – powers and duties delegated to the City Manager o The role of mayor and balance of responsibilities/decision making between the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Commissioners and city manager/staff o Filling vacancies on the City Commission (Section 2.06) – what are state law requirements? What options exist to improve this process locally? • Plan with Sub-options: There are several areas of consideration that can be customized to meet the local needs of a community. The plan allows choice of sub-options depending on the form of government. Some topics have already been identified and need to be understood: o Representation of Commissioners ▪ Overlapping or concurrent terms ▪ Number of Commissioners to serve, part-time or full-time members, pay structure for Commissioners and Mayor ▪ By Wards and/or at At Large ▪ Power structure of the Executive/Mayor – veto power o Representation of Mayor ▪ Election of Mayor directly, and length of term ▪ Role and length of time as Deputy Mayor o Ways the Charter controls and directs the inclusion of the Public in decision-making o Staff positions that are currently hired or elected o Employee supervision, levels of oversight by the Commission and/or Mayor, ability of Commissioners to engage with leadership staff outside of the City Manager 5 3. Study Plan Sources As the Study Commission works through this plan, we will invite presentations, either written or in person. Sources of information include the following: • Current people engaged in each category of study – including hired, volunteer and elected people • Examples from other cities, including information about how these examples are working or not working in the selected cities • Best Practice options from governance professionals and Commissioners • Professionals who have special training in each topic of understanding 4. Study Schedule – this may be adapted depending on emerging needs and schedules ** Ethics Training & Safety of Elected Officials – This will be scheduled as a separate meeting. 2025 Study Commission Meetings This is an estimate of topics and may be changed due to circumstances. • June 25—City of Bozeman Budget Process Overview and draft Study Plan of Action discussion • July 10--- Approval of Outline of Study Plan; Inter-Neighborhood Council Engagement joint meeting • July 23--- Communication Strategist Discussion and Implementation of Study Plan • August 7--- One Bozeman – set up who included, how to meet, what outcomes desired • August 20---Current Strengths and Weaknesses of Charter • September 4---Governance and Leadership Structure • September 17---Advisory and Citizen Board Utilization and Management • October 2---Engagement or Outreach Event • October 15--- Growth, Sustainability, Land Use, Zoning and Housing • November 6 --- City Values, Human rights and Quality of Life • November 18 -- Engagement or Outreach Event • December 4--- Learnings/recommendations on Strengths and Weaknesses of Charter Begin preparation for Phase 3 6 5. Conclusion According to the Montana Code Annotated, the purpose of the Study Commission is to study the existing form and powers of local government and procedures for delivery of local government services and compare them with other forms available under the laws of the state. This study, combined with the Engagement Plan and Communication Plan will allow the Study Commission to operate in a comprehensive manner.