HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-05-25 Public Comment - L. Jay - Public Comment on Consent Item G.4 WARD for Tue. Aug 5 Commission MeetingFrom:Lorre Jay
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Public Comment on Consent Item G.4 WARD for Tue. Aug 5 Commission Meeting
Date:Tuesday, August 5, 2025 9:58:08 AM
Attachments:Public Comment on Consent Item G.4 WARD for Tue. Aug 5 Commission Meeting.msg
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Public Comment on Consent Item G.4 WARD for Tue, Aug 5, Commission Mee>ng.
August 5, 2025
Dear Commissioners:
This is a public comment on Consent Item G.4 for Tuesday, Aug 5, 2025 Commission Meeting. Please
move Consent Item G.4 to the Action Item Agenda and then vote NO on Consent Item G.4.
The City Manager, by putting this item on the Consent Agenda, allows the Commissioners to
hide information from Bozeman residents—in this case hiding an additional $20,000 expenditure of
public money to advocate against the local, grassroots Bozeman Water Adequacy Initiative (aka
WARD). As well, this does not require Commissioners to go on record as to how they would vote on
this item, which enables Commissioners Bode and Fischer, both running for seats in November, to
avoid public responsibility for their anti-WARD positions.
The RFP response from Strategies 360, the chosen vendor, indicates a proposed cost of $42,000.
However, you have indicated a budget of $70,000, which is $28,000 more than the RFP proposal and
$20,000 more than what the Commission approved in June. In addition, you have indicated in your
approved budget that you are planning to spend a total of $100,000 on this “education” earmarking
$50,000 each in the City Manager’s operating budget (footnote 2, p. 25) and the Water operations
budget (footnote 3, p. 47). None of this is made clear in your communication on this matter in
Consent Item G.4.
In your budget, you have underfunded HRDC’s warming center request by $140,000 which may cause
them to suspend operations for part of the year, and you chose not to fund Family Promise’s $150,000
request, which aids families experiencing homelessness.
How does “threading a needle” legally to advocate against a grassroots ballot initiative, which is
proposing a tool to increase a‘ordable housing, rank higher than funding basic needs in our
community? How does this reflect responsible governance?
In threading the needle, you will have to prove that you are not advocating for or against the WARD
ballot initiative based on the MCA 13-35-226. However, you have already indicated in several
Commission meetings (e.g. April 22, 2025), your education will be against. This seems like a gross
mis-use of taxpayer dollars, a stifling of democracy, and a challenge to your ethical commitment to
the citizens of Bozeman.
Sincerely,
Lorre Jay
Bozeman Resident