City Council rejects downgrading city status

Havre City Council, after a tense debate, voted unanimously by voice vote Monday night to reject Mayor Tim Solomon's proposal to change the city's classification from Class 1 to Class 2.

"I don't like surprises," said council member Jay Pyette, who said he was taken aback when Solomon, without notice, placed the matter on the agenda which was released on the Thursday before a holiday weekend.

He said that two weeks ago, Havre resident Bill Lanier complained that the City Council was not being transparent. The raising of the classification issue without notice was not acting in a transparent manner, Pyette said.

Before Solomon opened the public hearing, he spoke to the crowd saying he was pleased to see a much higher-than-usual turnout, though he said some of the opposition to his plan was fueled by "misinformation."

He said the change in classification would mean very little to the city. It would open the door to reducing fire department services, though it would not mandate such a change. The matter could be debated later if council decided to entertain such a proposal, he said.

The city's population has fallen beneath 10,000, meaning the city can - but doesn't have to - become a Class 2 city.

Solomon said if voters approve a city charter, it would be easier to find a qualified city manager if it competed

with other Class 2 cities, rather than being compared to Class 1 cities that can afford to pay higher salaries.

In labor contract talks, he said, all four unions compare Havre salaries to other Class 1 cities. The seven cities range in size from Billings to Kalispell, he said, all of which are much larger than Havre and can afford to pay more.

The Class 2 cities have more in common with Havre, he said.

Council member Caleb Hutchins, an early opponent of the measure, said he checked out several employment advertisements for city managers. All of them mentioned the population of the city, none mentioned the classification.

When the hearing opened, eight speakers went to the podium to criticize the proposal, most suggesting that the proposal was prompted by acrimony between the city and Local 601, International Association of Fire Fighters, the union representing the city's firefighters.

"This proposal is being made for only one reason, to weaken the fire department and Local 601," said Cody McLain, the grievance chair of the firefighters union. "We feel this is retaliation against the local for standing up for its rights."

"Today was the first day I heard about this," said Brian Williams, a city resident. "This has been a blindside to the community."

Former Montana House Speaker Bob Bergren, D-Havre, said he co-sponsored legislation carried by Rep. John Musgrove, D-Havre, in 2002 that allowed the city to remain a Class 1 city even though it had fallen beneath 10,000 population limit.

He acknowledged that changing to Class 2 would not automatically enable the city to reduce the size of the fire department.

"What it does is open up the door for this to happen," he said.

A retired firefighter, Bergren said he would not return to the department today because it is dangerous because of staff shortages brought on by the discord between the city and the union.

"The situation is grave," he said.

Realtor Kim Cripps said the city needs safe services.

"Havre is a great place," she said. "If we downsize (the fire department), it's going to affect housing."

"If it's not broke, don't fix it," she said to the council.

When it came time for council members to debate the issue, council member Andrew Brekke said he was "caught a little off guard" by the sudden announcement that the matter would be brought before council.

He said he opposed Solomon's proposal, and, instead, he wanted the Government Study Commission to take a look at the proposal.

The commission is ready to propose that a city manager form of government be adopted, a plan that must be approved by city voters. But the commission is also charged with making recommendations on how the city can be better run. Those proposals will be submitted to City Council and will not be placed before voters.

Dave Brewer, the commission chair, who was in the audience, said the commission will take up the matter. It has a public hearing on the proposed charter at 7 p.m. Monday at city hall.

Brekke said that despite the uproar that has been created by the proposal, "maybe it's a good thing that we are talking about this."

But he took exception to comments he heard that indicated the mayor was suggesting that Havre was "a second-class city."

He said Whitefish, Lewistown and Miles City were Class 2 cities.

"I'm sure they don't consider themselves second-class cities," he said.

Pyette objected to the announcement that the matter would be on the agenda.

"I feel very poorly about the way this was handled," he said about the lack of transparency.

Hutchins, who posted objections on Facebook to the mayor's plan, said the city should make more effort to make information available to the public on such matters,

He said that documents concerning the change of classifications were not available on city websites.

Councilman Ed Matter, who said he is not on Facebook, said he was concerned that "misinformation" was posted on Facebook and added that people and City Council should not rely too much on social media.

Hutchins said the best way to counter misinformation on social media is for city officials to respond to it quickly.

He said the city should pen conversations with city residents.

Matter said he also detected "a little paranoia as far as the fire department goes."

Yet he joined the others in rejecting the mayor's proposal.

Solomon said he had hoped to provoke discussion on the matter and believed that he did that.