BILLINGS – Yellowstone County Commissioner Jim Reno has announced that he will run for re-election in 2016. A Republican primary contender, Denis Pitman, a Billings City Councilman, has already announced his intention of challenging the three-term incumbent.
Reno said that he wants to “finish the job you hired me to do. . . There is a lot of work yet to do.”
But Reno’s main reason for running for re-election is that he enjoys the job and even though he is 70 years old, he is not ready to slow down. Buoyed with good health, Reno says he is not one who does well with nothing to do.
Reno said he has opened a bank account for the campaign, which ends with the general election in November 2016.
His primary focus in a fourth term would be the completion of efforts to add to the size of the Yellowstone County Detention Facility and to provide for its long-term maintenance.
With the problem of the overcrowded jail in mind, Reno said that he would like to shift gears somewhat and work with the city in efforts to alleviate the homeless problem. Some of the overcrowding at the jail can be traced to homeless issues.
Conceding that the county has been “reserved“ in the past about joining such an alliance with the city, Reno said, “We are connected at the hip because of the jail issue… When the crisis center is full and a drunk tears the ticket up in front of the cops… It adds just one more number to the jail. That’s the kind of problem we have to deal with at the jail.”
Reno noted that the city administrator has said that 76 to 79 inmates are habitual offenders “and it costs $8 million a year to address them,” in terms of emergency responders, ambulance, police, administration, etc. He wants to find a solution.
Reno also wants to facilitate a “complete rebirth of MetraPark.” It’s time to pull out past master plans for the facility, dust them off and implement some changes, especially for utilizing the back side. The issue of the grandstand was raised during the last meeting of the MetraPark Advisory Board, and members asked that the most recent plans put together for the future development for MetraPark be brought to their next meeting.
It’s time to look at those plans and figure out what to do with the grandstand, said Reno. The grandstand comprises the largest footprint at MetraPark and is the most underutilized.
“I don’t think horse racing is going to come back,” he said, so the question becomes, what to do with that space? “I don’t want to pay for another plan,” he added. “We don’t need another plan. We need to dust off previous plans.”
Reno takes pride in the advances that the county has made in implementing state of the art technology, but believes there are areas that still need to be addressed.
“It continues to gravel me,” Reno said, “when I walk through the (courthouse) lobby and see people standing in line to get their vehicle licenses. There is no technological reason why you shouldn’t buy your plate where you buy your vehicle.”
He concedes, however, that the lack of interest on the part of the industry to get involved means there must be something he is missing, but nonetheless he wants to see improvement in the process.
“How demeaning it is to have to stand in line.”
Reno complimented former Clerk and Recorder Tony Nave and current Clerk and Recorder Jeff Martin in helping to implement technological innovations in county record keeping. He also credited other county officials for their efforts. “I have the privilege to be part of a fantastic team that runs Yellowstone County, consisting of Commissioners Bill Kennedy and John Ostlund, Sheriff Mike Linder, County Attorney Scott Twito and all the other elected officials and our amazing employees.”
Asked what surprised him the most in becoming a county commissioner, Reno said, “What surprises me, and it happens every day, is the old statutes on the books that don’t allow me to serve customer needs.”
A case in point is an issue that pending legislation could correct. Property owners wanting zoning variances have no ability to ask elected officials to make a decision before having to pay the cost of going to court. Currently, hired planning staffers and an appointed board make the decision. House Bill 193, if passed by the state Legislature, would give authority to county commissioners to make the final decision.
Reno said that what he likes best about the job is being able to solve problems for citizens.
“I like being a problem solver in the courthouse,” said Reno.
