County Commissioners agenda for 2017

Everything from the nonpartisan-election change to the EPA leaving, the upcoming year seems packed for the Lincoln County Commissioners.

As the end of the year approached, the election year ushered in new District Judge Matt Cuffe and new County Commissioner Jerry Bennett. The commissioners pushed some of their agenda items back to allow for a smooth transition.

NEXT YEAR IS LOOKING to be the last for the EPA in Libby, after they announced earlier this year that they were leaving. After many years of the Superfund status cloud hanging over Libby’s head, the news was bittersweet, but after the EPA leaves, people are going to be on their own in terms of investigations.

Commissioner Mark Peck said there’s a lot to discuss in terms of the institutional controls and operational maintenance funding as far as post-EPA Libby is concerned. EPA officials are scheduled to give an update on Jan. 11 at 9:30 a.m.

THE COUNTY’S ELECTION change from partisan to nonpartisan in 2009 is another mess the commissioners have to clean up. The commissioners went years not knowing that the ballot item that was approved by a vote of the people went against the Montana constitution.

Now, after a study commission informed them of the issue this year, the commissioners have been rallying to lay out the best path toward correcting their mistake.

One step is to seek an opinion from an attorney general, the second is to take it to court, and the third is to work on a piece of legislature with the state.

The best option, Peck told The Western News earlier this month, would be for the commissioners to vote to go back to partisan elections. However, after talking to several experts, Peck believes that would entail overturning a vote by the people — something only a judge could do.

People packed into the County Commissioners office on Dec. 14 to voice their concerns on the matter. The public in attendance asked for a timeframe on solving the issue, but the commissioners felt that any timeframe they would give would seem arbitrary and counterproductive.

THE TROY JUVENILE DETENTION facility is also a topic that’s been looming over the last few years, that looks to come to a final decision in 2017. Since the facility is full, the employees have been working quite a bit in overtime to keep up with demand. At the same time, the promise of merging with the Sheriff’s Office has been pushed back.

“I think it’s a good move, it’s the right move,” Peck said. “It allows them to leverage the resources.”

THIS DECEMBER MARKED THE one-year anniversary of the state of emergency called by the County Commissioners after widespread flooding impacted the areas of Callahan, Granite, Parmenter, Flower and Keeler Creeks near Troy. The order by Commissioner Greg Larson to dredge in Callahan Creek to prevent the flooding of neighboring homes, violated section 301 of the Clean Water Act, 33 USC, section 1311.

Now, the commissioners are working on restoration projects, which Lincoln County Emergency Management Agency deputy Lisa Oedewaldt and engineer Mike Fraser have met with them on throughout 2016. Commissioner Peck said that the weather has slowed down the cleanup progress, but said it should be resolved within a year.

A HIRING OF A COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR is also on the commissioners’ agenda.

The County Administrator serves under the general supervision of the commissioners and supervises the day-to-day county business operations. They also are responsible for budget functions to the county, all other administrative aspects of Lincoln County and all staff members within the business operations department.

County Human Resources Manager Victor L. White told The Western News in October that their goal was to have someone hired by Jan. 1. After whittling down a list of 29 applicants for the position, the one person that they interviewed didn’t work out after they weren’t able to offer them a high-enough salary. They will begin advertising for the position again next year.

NEXT YEAR, THE COUNTY DEPARTMENT HEADS will be required to undergo training on technology and software programs that both Matt Pickett of Business Owners Assistant of Missoula and former IT Director Richard Kesling advised them this year to do.

In early October, Pickett handed the commissioners a list of advisements that were meant to go towards helping the county departments work efficiently and effectively.

One of the items on that list was for the county to the existing utilize technology to make the county’s core service areas work efficiently, instead of being stuck in a “reactive cycle.” For example, one of the resources that they have had for years, but they haven’t received adequate training on is their Black Mountain Computer Software. A part of that is converting to electronic timecards as opposed to their current, time-consuming manual system.