HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-18-25 Public Comment - INC - INC recommendations for a potential new Bozeman CharterFrom:Jandt Neighborhood
To:Bozeman Goverment Study Commission; Bozeman Public Comment
Cc:Emily Kiely; Joey Morrison
Subject:[EXTERNAL]INC recommendations for a potential new Bozeman Charter
Date:Tuesday, December 16, 2025 1:54:24 PM
Attachments:Final INC recommended Charter Language - Google Docs.pdf
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you
recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Hello Bozeman City Government Study Commission,
Thank you for the work you are doing to conduct outreach for this local government study,
and for soliciting feedback specifically from Bozeman's Inter-Neighborhood Council (INC). As the Secretary of the INC, I submit to you recommended Charter language, as pertains to the
Neighborhoods Program and the INC, for your consideration for inclusion in a possible futureBozeman Charter.
The goal of this proposed language is to strengthen an existing Neighborhoods Program and
INC by improving two-way communication between the City and its residents, therebyincreasing citizen participation in local government, and providing a mechanism by which
residents and neighborhoods can advocate for their interests and concerns together.
The process for the creation of this recommended Charter language began with the formationof a subcommittee of INC representatives. The subcommittee examined the Charter language
of other Montana cities. The subcommittee presented ideas to the larger council, and gatheredinput from fellow INC representatives. Some representatives went back to their broader
neighborhood association membership, while others consulted their steering committees. Finally draft language was workshopped in a regularly scheduled INC meeting on December
11th of this year.
It is worth taking some time to watch the recording of the December 11th INC meeting inorder to understand the context of the recommended charter language. What concerns
informed certain language will no doubt be useful to you. You can view the recordinghere. Two points that might not be communicated through this recording are these;
Several INC representatives who reached out to their steering committees for input,reported strong support for a city-wide system of wards or districts from which to elect
City Commissioners if the wards or districts were drawn on neighborhood boundaries. In other words, please don't bisect existing neighborhood associations placing them in
multiple different wards or districts. Possible wards or districts might include multipleneighborhood associations, and could give associations a valuable point person on the
City Commission to whom they may communicate concerns directly.Many INC representatives felt that a full time, paid, staff person, dedicated to the
Neighborhoods Program entirely, would better facilitate new neighborhoods forming inunderserved parts of the community. Most INC representatives felt that neighborhood
formation from the ground-up, in an organic process initiated in the neighborhoodsthemselves, would result in better participation than City designated geographic areas to
be recognized as neighborhood associations from the top-down. This is due to the highlevel of knowledge people who live in an area have about what creates natural
boundaries and shared concerns. If the Study Commission does decide to recommend
top-down neighborhood associations based on geography, please respect existingneighborhood associations that have formed to date. Progress is being made currently,
and the city is on a good path to broader representation on the Council. Either way, fulltime staff is critical for the future success of the Program.
Attached is the final recommended charter language drafted at the December 11th INCmeeting. You may receive individual neighborhood association recommendations as well.
Thank you again for soliciting the input of the Inter-Neighborhood Council on what might
strengthen the Neighborhoods Program and INC in a possible future Bozeman City Charter.
Alison SweeneyChair of the Jandt Neighborhood
Secretary of the Inter-Neighborhood CouncilINC Charter Subcommittee Chair