Havre City Council working on 2020 budget, hearing set for Sept. 3

Havre City Council unanimously passed its preliminary budget for fiscal year 2020 during a Monday public budget hearing for Tuesday, Sept. 3, following the regular council meeting and to continue into Wednesday, Sept 4, when the council will have its final vote on the budget.

A number of resolutions were passed unanimously by the council to fund the budget for fiscal year 2020, with some going up and some going down. Those included a resolution levying and assessing a tax to defray the cost of maintaining street lights for the city, which has gone up because NorthWestern Energy has predicted a rate increase for the upcoming year; an adjustment for property tax for the city to defray the cost of maintaining streets for the city; an adjustment for property to defray the cost of Bullhook maintenance for the city, which no longer includes the Bullhook storm drain project and is purely used for maintenance, and an adjustment to the tax to defray the cost of solid waste services for the city. 

Havre Public Works Director Dave Peterson added that the cost of solid waste services, although it may have increased, is still one of the lowest costs for a city in the state.

The council also unanimously voted down a request to close a residential street for an estate auction, with members saying they didn’t want to set a precedent.

“We do street closures for community events and public gatherings and stuff but I feel like this may not be a precedent we necessarily want to set if it’s a private individual’s sale,” council member Caleb Hutchins said, adding that it is also a residential road which would be closed rather than a location in downtown Havre.

Local auctioneer Bob Sivertsen had requested a closure on Second Avenue from Fourth Street to Fifth Street for Sept. 7 for an auction from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The council unanimously voted down the request because the private nature of the auction, with several council members agreeing that the city shouldn’t close streets for private events. 

The council approved the acceptance of the Department of Justice Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant — JAG — for a total of $10,372.

Havre Police Chief Gabe Matosich said that the grant will be used to purchase computer equipment, such as a new server, for the police department. He added that the server is also utilized by Hill County Sheriff’s Office and will benefit both agencies. The server being used is out of date and has reached the end of its usefulness and needs to be repaired.

Ordinance No. 908, which would amend the ordinance designating how people apply to fill vacant city council seats, passed on its first reading.

At the council’s Aug. 5 meeting during the ordinance’s second reading, Mayor Tim Solomon had to break a tie vote from the council, and voted to revise the proposal rather than approve it on second reading.

The revised proposal requires applicants to submit a resume but removes a requirement they provide a written philosophy.

The ordinance will now need to be voted on in a second reading next council meeting Sept. 2.