HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-06-26 Public Comment - D. Fischer - Public Engagement + Wards_DistrictsFrom:Douglas Fischer
To:Bozeman Goverment Study Commission
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Public Engagement + Wards/Districts
Date:Wednesday, May 6, 2026 5:38:47 PM
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Friends,
As you craft a new charter for our city, I would urge restraint – and trust.
A city charter should provide durable structure and clear governing principles. It should give
us strong bones and leave future residents and elected leaders room to adapt as the citychanges. The more detailed and prescriptive a charter becomes, the more likely it is to create
conflict, rigidity, and unintended consequences.
I read the proposed Article VII on public engagement with growing concern.
Public engagement is essential to healthy democracy. Every commissioner, mayor, boardmember, and city staff member should strive to listen carefully, communicate clearly, and
involve the public meaningfully in civic life. I appreciate the commission’s desire to elevatethose values.
But I do not believe they belong in the charter in this form.
Article VII moves far beyond establishing principles. It attempts to constitutionalize a very
specific model of public engagement – complete with organizational structures, staffingexpectations, procedural obligations, advisory relationships, and response requirements. Those
are policy choices that should remain flexible and subject to revision by future commissionsand future voters as circumstances evolve.
Most concerning, the language repeatedly elevates Neighborhood Associations and the Inter-Neighborhood Council as “essential partners” in municipal decision-making. That wording
risks creating the impression that unelected organizations hold a quasi-governing rolealongside the elected City Commission.
That is not a small concern.
Neighborhood associations can provide valuable input, but participation levels in many
associations remain quite limited and uneven across the city. They do not represent allresidents equally, and they should not be granted special standing within the city charter itself.
The proposed language also creates practical governance concerns. For example:
“When INC develops formal recommendations on an issue of importance, there will be an
opportunity to present these recommendations during a City Commission meeting.”
That may sound harmless, but agenda-setting is one of the most consequential responsibilities
in local government. Every agenda item requires staff work, public notice, preparation,deliberation time, and community attention. Embedding procedural expectations like this into
the charter invites future disputes not about policy, but about process and interpretation.
Similarly, mandating a full-time city liaison position for neighborhood associations in the
charter itself seems unnecessarily rigid at a time when future commissions will face changingfiscal realities and competing community needs.
My recommendation is simple: strike Article VII entirely, or reduce it dramatically to a shortstatement affirming the city’s commitment to transparency, accessibility, and public
participation.
Trust future residents. Trust future commissions. Let engagement practices evolve over time
through ordinances, policies, and community expectations rather than constitutional mandate.
One final request: please retain at-large elections for City Commission seats rather than
moving toward wards or districts.
Yes, recent commissions have disproportionately reflected one side of town. But Bozeman is
changing rapidly, and electoral patterns are already evolving. At-large representationencourages commissioners to think citywide rather than geographically and avoids many of
the recruitment and residency complications we have seen emerge in other local governments.
Bozeman’s charter should unify the city, not subdivide it.
Thank you for your work and service in what I know has been a difficult and demandingprocess.
Douglas Fischer
1410 S. Montana Ave.
Bozeman