Retiring Lincoln Co. Commissioner Bennett grateful

Lincoln County Commissioner Jerry Bennett said recently that the first word he learned as a child was “No.”

Bennett chuckled when he said it, but he believes it has served him well in his life, his work and as a public servant.

“Government was never designed to be charitable, it was designed to be efficient and to make sure people are protected and safe,” Bennett said.

Bennett did not seek a second term for county commissioner and at 66, he’s ready to focus on other projects - namely 40 acres of land that he says needs cleared.

On Wednesday afternoon, a retirement party was held in the Lincoln County Courthouse for Bennett.

Bennett said as a business owner, a member of the state House of Representatives and a commissioner for the last six years, he’s had to make many difficult choices, some of which include saying “No.”

“We have to make hard choices and they all aren’t going to be popular,” Bennett said. “And being a state legislator was not easy. There was a lot of sacrifices my family had to endure. But I was very fortunate to have a wife such as Malia, she was very understanding.”

Bennett said what he has done has been in pursuit of a good life for his family.

“God has blessed me in ways I never could’ve imagined,” Bennett said. “I’ve traveled across the world, I’ve been to the U.S. Capitol and looked eye to eye with our nation’s leaders, it’s been remarkable. The effort has been very worth it.”

Fellow county commissioner Brent Teske said working with Bennett since his appointment in July 2021 has been invaluable.

“For me being appointed, I had no expectations or knowledge of what it took to be a commissioner, so he, as well as Mark Peck, have been strong mentors of mine.

“Jerry has provided a lot of direction and guidance and directed me in what areas I should be most active in.”

Teske said Bennett’s time in the state legislature has also been very valuable to the county’s residents and to the commission.

“As a legislator, Jerry knows what was intended with many bills that were made law in Montana and he’s got a plethora of contacts.

“We’re really gonna miss all that, but I know Jerry still plans on being active as an individual in the Port, so that’s a very good thing.”

Bennett’s path to public service wasn’t obvious when he was a young man working for his stepdad, Bill Taylor, as a logger.

“Working in the woods was my favorite job and working for my step dad taught me my work ethic.

"But I messed my back up when I was 23,” Bennett said. “Cutting wood helped pay for Christmas presents and many other things, but the doctor told me if I wanted to walk, I needed to stop logging.”

Bennett went to work for Scott Orr, who ran various businesses which included garbage, septic and lawn care. Orr was also a state Representative. Bennett ran those operations when Orr was in session in Helena and that’s where Bennett initially developed an interest of running for office.

But before that, Bennett bought Orr’s septic and portable toilet businesses, running them for 15 years before selling them to his daughter, Amy.

There were many in Lincoln County who wanted to see Bennett run for state office.

“In a moment of weakness, I said ‘Yes,’” Bennett said with a smile.

Bennett won four two-year terms to serve in the state House. He was the majority whip for his last time, which ended in 2016.

A desire to see Lincoln County in better shape led to his decision to run for commissioner.

“We were spending $1.5 million more than we were taking in and the surplus we had was rapidly dwindling,” Bennett said. “The commissioners were doing what they could, but there were some hard choices to make. It wasn’t pleasant, but it needed doing.”

Bennett feels the county is going in a pretty good direction, but he knows the challenges facing the county will increase.

“We’ve been able to balance the budget, we’ve built strong relationships with our national delegation and we’ve done a lot at the Port property to make it more attractive for companies to locate there,” Bennett said.

He also sees promise that the logging industry can be restored to the point where it helps the community with jobs and more tax revenue.

“The MOU (memorandum of understanding) with the Forest Service to treat 10,000 acres annually is good, but we also know that if we have 20 different companies employing 1,000 people we are more likely to avoid the boom and bust that has occurred in the past,” Bennett said.

Bennett pointed out that the county takes in about $4 to $4.5 million in tax revenue annually, but it doesn’t go far as some think.

“Public safety gobbles up a big chunk and most people don’t realize their tax dollars don’t pay for roads,” Bennett said.

While a portion of Forest Service revenue was allocated to counties to help maintain schools and roads, the decline in the logging industry led the U.S. Congress to pass the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) Act in 2000.

“The SRS took the place of Forest Service receipts that paid for a lot of road maintenance here,” Bennett said. “But without raising taxes, it gets more challenging every day to accomplish things. We see a lot of expectations that aren’t feasible.”

Bennett hopes the consolidation of 911 operations in the county comes to fruition, mainly because of the cost savings it would provide to the county.

“We have the technology to do some things we couldn’t and the state would support one facility as opposed to three,” Bennett said.

In terms of emergency medical services, Bennett said the county may have to spend more tax dollars to provide it.

“There are some who just don’t want to talk about it, but what’s best for the citizens is always the question that needs to be answered.”