Whitefish voters approve charter amendment to allow Council compensation

By a margin of just under 300 votes, preliminary results show that Whitefish voters appear to have approved a ballot question in favor of amending the city charter to allow council members to receive compensation through the city for their work in government.

Early last spring, the Whitefish City Council opted to put the question to voters during their fall ballot. Results visible on the Montana Secretary of State website Wednesday showed that with six of the six districts partially counted, 53% of voters, or 2,330 people, voted in favor of the charter change, and 2,042, or 47%, voted against it.

With the ballot question passed, City Manager Dana Smith said city staff could receive further guidance on next steps at the Nov. 18 council meeting, including the opportunity to schedule a work session for additional discussion.

Assuming the council shows interest in addressing the issue, the details of potential compensation will be the subject of a public hearing. A combination of a salary, a stipend, health insurance where the city pays the premium, a daily allowance and a mileage allowance are all possible.

Whitefish is one of a limited number of local governments in Montana that currently do not provide compensation to the City Council. During a work session in February, the council was presented with a 2022 payroll survey from the Montana League of Cities and Towns (MLCT), which detailed the salaries of more than 60 local governments in the state and showed that Troy was the only other one. -volunteer council.

At the time of the early 2024 work session, some council members showed support for the idea of ​​qualifying for health insurance through the city, with the city paying the premium. At the time, Smith estimated that the cost of a family plan could range from $24,000 to $26,000 per council member who opted for municipal health insurance.

Councilors voted unanimously at a May meeting to let voters decide after the idea began to gain traction, with some councilors suggesting it could help alleviate some of the financial barriers that prevent younger or working-class members from joining to nominate.

One council member, Giuseppe Caltabiano, said at the time that he believed it was a conflict of interest for the council to grant themselves any financial benefit through their office, and that if the ballot question were approved, he would advocate for the council’s current members to join the council not eligible for compensation.

Councilwoman Rebecca Norton, a longtime supporter of the idea of ​​municipal compensation, disagreed.

“This is for the future, not for us. I know you are sensitive to that. I recommended this 11 years ago. Now we have a great need in our community to encourage participation in the public process. And this is one way we can do it,” Norton said in May. “People may not want to receive a stipend if they are elected, and they may not need health insurance. But for people who could benefit from it, if they have leadership qualities, it can make a difference in their performance or service. I know you are sensitive to everything, while we are all volunteers, but this is really about the future.”

Currently, members of the Whitefish City Council receive a number of benefits and the city covers the cost of some work-related purchases, including up to $500 to offset the purchase of an electronic device, $150 per quarter for the use of a personal cell phone phone or access to a paid city phone, a WAVE membership and the ability to participate in the city’s health insurance program by paying the full premium for whichever plan they choose. According to the city charter, council members are also eligible for per diem and mileage reimbursement for expenses incurred while performing their official duties.

In other Whitefish election news, voters also selected Saundra D. Alessi, Nathan Dugan, Kevin McDowell, Dakota Whitman and Scott Wurster as their five representatives to serve on the local government study committee. Six candidates participated, with the top five winning a seat on the committee. Dugan received the most votes, with 2,016, followed by McDowell (1,823), Whitman (1,681), Wurster (1,604) and Alessi (1,576). The six-seat scrutineer, Michael Hein, received 1,354 votes.

Voters in June supported the 10-year local government review commission, leading to this fall’s election for a seat on the commission. Montana’s Constitution gives voters the opportunity to adopt such a revision once every ten years. The commission is tasked with studying Whitefish local government, soliciting feedback and then potentially implementing changes that could be presented to voters by November 2026.

At the Nov. 18 meeting, the council will appoint a non-voting member to the study committee, after which commissioners will have 10 days after the election is certified to hold their first meeting, said Michelle Howke, Whitefish city clerk. During the first meeting, the commissioners appoint a chairman and the meeting dates are determined. These meetings will be public.

(email protected)