HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-13-26 Public Comment - A. Kociolek - Public comment re Charter LanguageFrom:Angie Kociolek
To:Bozeman Goverment Study Commission
Cc:Barb Cestero
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Public comment re Charter Language
Date:Wednesday, May 13, 2026 2:54:39 PM
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Dear Study Commission -
Thank you for your work on Article VII of the City Charter. I appreciate many of youradditions and clarifications.
As the NENA INC Rep, current INC Bylaws Subcommittee Member, and engaged resident, I
offer the following insights, corrections, and suggestions upon reading your latest draftattached in the May 13 agenda.
Page 1
Section 7.021. Strike “s” from “recognizes.”
2. Add a dash (-) between “Inter Neighborhood.”
3. Change “can” to “shall” to ensure that Neighborhood Associations (NA) will be aninstitutional structure.
Page 2
Section 7.041. Define City of Bozeman here to include our local governing body AND its people to clearly
set it apart of other uses of the word “city.”
2. As done elsewhere in the document, add “the City as a whole” in the last sentence inPurpose: “Neighborhood Associations will champion the needs of their neighborhoods and the
City as a whole to ensure…”
3. Might be worth fleshing out what is meant by “democratic deliberation” in this context. Ican appreciate the need for thoughtful process but “democratic deliberation” sounds a bit
formal for the realities of Neighborhood Associations.
4. The INC does not have the capacity or time to work on NA boundary setting. Theneighborhood itself with the guidance of the staff liaison are well equipped to do that
foundational step. Suggest removing INC from b1.
5. When speaking of two-way communication with all residents of a neighborhood - do youmean like having an email address and regular in person meetings? In order for each NA to
have a shot at reaching ALL its members (that is residents, property owners, businesses,organizations within a given boundary) the city ought to be informing everyone with a mailing
address of its existence and how to get involved - ie sign up for our email/paper newsletterwith more ways to get involved. Then we as an NA can maintain two-way communication.
Without the city’s resources - such as postage - NAs are left to promote themselves via handdelivered paper newsletters, social media, word of mouth, fliers, etc.
6. *** Change “elect” to “select” to be consistent with other parts of the Charter and INC
Bylaws. In b8. “… eligible to select members to serve on the Inter-Neighborhood Council.”***
7. Define Inter-Neighborhood Council before referring to it.
Page 3
1. Suggest elaborating a bit on the expectations of a City Commission Liaison. “Liaison”
implies acting together for a common purpose. I think it is reasonable to expect that a Liaisonwould be an ally, a partner. Recent interactions between the INC and the current CC Liaison
have not had the sense of working together. Perhaps the Charter can help in this regard.
2. d* - again remove the task of INC developing neighborhood boundaries.
Sincerely,
Angie Kociolek