Study Commission holding first public hearing on March 12

Board looks to get public's thoughts on what to change in ADLC's charter

The Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Study Commission, a commission tasked with reviewing the ADLC Charter and submit recommendations to the voters in 2026, is holding its first public hearing Wednesday, March 12. 

The first Study Commission was held in 1974 following the adoption of the 1972 Montana Constitution that provided for a review of local government every 10 years. The most recent was in 2014.

What issues does the study commission want input on?

Vice Chair Becky Guay said the study commission is looking for what residents would like to see changed about the form of government in ADLC as well what things they think are working well.

“The focus of the commission is kind of narrow in that it specifically is addressing the charter and in some cases the administrative code and changes to that, but if you’re looking to change the way a department is running, that’s not what the study commission is looking at,” Guay said.

Guay said one of the things the commission is looking at is whether ADLC should continue to elect commissioners strictly from within a commission district or if it thinks the general population should elect them. 

“Since the commissioner represents the city at large, not just the district, should the public at large get to weigh in on who they would like to elect for that position,” Guay said.

Another issue the public could be heard on is whether they’re happy with five county commissioners or if they’d like more or less.

The public could also weigh in on whether the chief executive and chief of law enforcement should continue to be elected or whether one or both of them should be appointed.

Non-Voting Ex-Officio Member Kevin Hart said that when the charter first went into effect in 1977, both the chief law enforcement officer and CEO, who at the time was called a city manager, were appointed by the county commissioners.

Every ten years since after that, it was put to voters to decide whether they wanted their chief of law enforcement and CEO to be elected or appointed, and since 1993, both have been elected positions. It’s been put to voters two times since, and both times voters chose to continue to have these positions be elected.

Hart said that when these positions are appointed, there can be qualifications put in place for these positions, and if the appointed people are not doing a good job, they can be removed by the commission, whereas when the positions are elected, if the individual isn’t doing a good job, it’s up to the voters to remove them when they come up for reelection.

“If it’s being done because people think that’s a better way of government being done, that’s one thing,” Hart said of choosing whether these positions should be appointed or elected. “But I don’t think it’s good governance if you do it because you don’t like someone. We have to be careful that personal feelings aren’t pushing changes in government.”

Hart added that other things the study commission has a purview over is whether county elections should be partisan or non-partisan or whether ADLC should continue to be a combined city-county government or a general powers government, but noted that he doesn’t foresee that changing.

At February’s study commission meeting, the commission talked at length about how and if the commission should do more than it’s already doing in terms of advertising the public hearing and spreading awareness about what its purpose is.

“I really expected better turnout at these meetings, especially at the initial meetings,” Hart said. “I hope we get a great turnout at the public hearing.” 

He echoed comments he made at last month’s meeting when he said he thinks that if people aren’t showing up, that says as much as if they were, because that may mean residents are happy with how the government is structured right now.

Residents with comments who don’t want to go to the public meeting can email the study commission at adlcstudycomm@adlc.us.

The public hearing of the ADLC study commission will be March 12 at 6 p.m. at the ADLC Courthouse.