News you can use

Outgoing, incoming commissioners address Pachyderms

Outgoing Hill County Commissioner Jeff LaVoi and his yet-to-be-sworn-in successor, Diane McLean, spoke to the Pachyderm Club Friday, addressing the current state of the county.

LaVoi, an independent, opted not to run for a second term this year. He instead gave his support to Hill County Superintendent of Schools Diane McLean, a Republican, in the race to replace him.

McLean won the election last month in a three-way race against Democrat James Bedwell and independent Ted Solomon.

"They each would bring different things to the plate and I think she was the right choice," he said.

LaVoi said he believes that since he was elected in 2010, the county has achieved a great deal. However, he said, the thing he is most proud of is that he never voted for something that benefited him and not the county.

    "I am proud of that," he said.

LaVoi leaves office in a time of tightening budgets. He said part of that is due to the decrease in oil and gas revenue brought in by the state, a portion of which is then paid to counties.

LaVoi said there were times before he was elected where the county would receive as much as $2 million from  oil and gas revenue. However, he estimated, last year that amount fell to $172,000.

"It's bad enough not getting those dollars, but you have to keep in mind that when they were getting those dollars there were decisions that were being made based on a continuum, and it's hard to fill that shortfall," he said.

Fairgrounds

McLean said that on the campaign trail, issues involving the fairgrounds were constantly brought up.

She said the departure of three different fairgrounds managers in two years is of particular concern.

Longtime grounds manager and Havre Mayor Tim Solomon resigned from the fairgrounds position in 2015, when the board altered the position. Mike Sharp succeeded him, then left the job following a contentious meeting with fair board members in October of last year.

In March, Bob Horne was hired, but resigned last month. County commissioners and fair board members said they received his resignation in an email. No explanation was given for his departure.

LaVoi and McLean said they did not know why Horne resigned or why the county seems unable to keep a fairgrounds manager.

McLean said that before she decided to run for county commissioner last year, she was approached several times to see if she wanted to take the position of fairgrounds manager.

She said that the county might want to reconsider the requirement that a manager live in a house on the grounds.

The rule could cause many people who may otherwise be interested in taking the position from being considered, particularly those who own houses or acreage.

McLean said the county might also want to look at possibly breaking the fair manager into two positions: one that would handle maintenance and grounds while another works on putting on the fair.

"So that might be something to look at, who knows," she said.

She said that, despite the trouble with keeping a fair manager, each year county residents have still been able use the facilities.

"People have been able to access the barn and utilize the barn and the other buildings," she said.

McLean said that people have also expressed concern about the deterioration of the fairgrounds and the buildings on the property, but added that she does see promise.

She said that she had recently attended a 4-H meeting, where they discussed their ongoing effort to build a new chuckwagon on the fairgrounds. She said if that building becomes a reality, there will be a modern building on the property that is not now available that can be used for events.

"And that is their intention, to be able to let organizations come in and do weddings, conventions or kinds of bigger meetings," McLean said.

She said she hopes the 4-H is successful with that project and that the county will work with them.

County attorney's office

The county has recently hired a new attorney to head up the Hill County Attorney's Office. Gina Dahl left the post last month.

The new attorney officially assumed the position today.

McLean, who has not been sworn in yet as commissioner, did not have a hand in hiring, she said.

McLean said the county attorney's office in Hill County is very busy compared to other county's of similar size across Montana.

"So that position is really important," she said.

Mill levies

McLean said she thought the county was partially responsible for the failure of three mill levy proposals to pass because the commissioners could have done a better job in explaining why the mill levies were needed.  

However, she said, a law prohibits commissioners from advocating for the passage of a mil levy once it is on the ballot.

The ballot included levies to replace the taxes now paying for the bond, which will be paid off next summer, that paid for the construction of the Hill County Justice Center, a levy for the Hill County Cemetery District, and a levy for the county weed control district.

She said when  such mill levies are considered, the county could probably use someone who could go out educate people about why the county needs the additional money,

McLean said she heard from voters who said they were  never told what the additional 10 mils in one proposal would be used for. McLean said the majority of voters did not want to vote to create what some might see as a slush fund for the county.

"I think that if people have an understanding and if they know what you are providing is vital and important to them, I think people are willing to say yes to things, but I just don't think there was enough information available," she said.

Superintendent position and the future of county schools

The position of county superintendent is one that is part-time, and although she is not able to attend as many events as she might otherwise want to in her capacity as superintendent, McLean said she thinks the superintendent can perform all necessary functions in that capacity.

McLean said that much of the work she does as a county superintendent is to provide advice to the county's rural schools, which do not have administrators.

She said beyond the schools in those rural districts, she does not do a lot of supervision.

However, she said, those rural schools face an uncertain future because many are having trouble finding qualified applicants.

She said that in the Cottonwood School District, there has been an opening advertised for a second bus driver in the district since June. The job, which would be about five hours a day, pays $15 an hour.

Having someone in that position is important because some of their students come from Havre, which is a long distance from the schools, she said.

At the Davey School east of Havre, the district has posted an opening for a second teacher, with only one applicant who was declined.

McLean said that many teachers at those schools have been teaching at their schools for a long time and have spared her the worry of finding new teachers. However, if they retire, it is not certain replacements can be found.

"I just cross my fingers and hope those teachers sign contracts and that you don't have to hire because it is really, really tough to attract that talent," she said.

 

Reader Comments(0)

 
 
Rendered 02/24/2024 03:15