The overarching question on the ballot is whether or not to change Bozeman’s form of government, but Bozeman voters will see 4 separate bubbles on their ballot addressing potential changes.
The first question is about adopting a new charter, the bylaws which outline how the city functions. The charter was last updated in 2006. Jan Strout a Bozeman City Study Commissioner says the commission was looking to update the charter for changes in the community over the last 20 years including changing national politics and rapid population growth in the valley.
“Frankly, the 2006 charter is simply not modern enough to be able to handle the results of those changes and the continuing changes that we have“ Strout said.
The new charter would have the mayor’s term start right away, eliminating the current 2 years as a deputy mayor. City Commission vacancies would need to be filled in 2 months instead of one and candidates must have a public forum. The new charter would create a compensation board to determine commissioner salary and prioritize public engagement through the inter neighborhood council.
A full list of changes can be found at the study commission's website
Some residents have concerns that Article VIII of charter will elevate the power of the Inter Neighborhood Council.
Becky Franks, another Bozeman study commissioner maintains that the change doesn't give the Inter Neighborhood Council any additional power but formalizes communications between the group and the city commission.
Franks says that while the updated charter got consensus among the commission, there were some other issues that were not as clear, so the group offered three sub options on the ballot.
“ Okay, we'll bring them to the public because we're hearing about them a lot, but there's no clarity happening" said Franks.
The first option is to increase the commission from four to six positions. The second is to have commissioners be representative of geographic wards and the third is whether or not to elect ward representatives by location or city-wide.
Franks says all of the options have pros and cons.
“It’s easy to think it’s simple, and it’s not” said Franks.
Here Franks walks through some things to consider for each sub option
The sub options would only go into effect if the first vote for an amended charter passes. If one or any of the changes passes, the changes would roll out over the next few years.
The study commission is a separate from the city of Bozeman, which is not taking a formal position on any of the suggested changes.
