Dear Editor,
Larry Brewster, Representative for Heights HD 44 introduced HB 35 to eliminate the city and/or county appointees in three districts: the County Water and Sewer District of Billings Heights (CWDBH), Big Sky Water and Sewer District and Evergreen Water and Sewer District. Of the 800+ districts in the state of Montana, the CWDBH is the only district that does not produce water and does not have sewer.
From 1958 to 2015, the language of the statute for city and county appointees and vacancy replacements was unchallenged; the CWDBH had a city and/or county appointee from 1958 through 2022 or to date depending on the District Court decision to be heard May 6, 2023, in Yellowstone County.
In 2015, the legislature changed the statute. Assistant Manager Peyton Brookshire testified to the Local Government Committee in 2021 that the District had no idea the law had been changed in 2015 and that the District now had the sole authority to appoint the city and county appointees.
This revision has created multiple legal challenges in Yellowstone County. In March 2021, the District challenged the county’s right to appoint a board member. Yellowstone County District Court issued an order in May 2021 directing the District to seat the elected board members and city and county appointees.
To me, the 2015 changes make no sense—vacancies of city and county appointees may be made by the District rather than the municipality and/or county as they had been since 1958?
Doug Kary and I recently attended a meeting of CWDBH to review the bylaws. Board President Ming Cabrera indicated that the legislature specifically wrote HB 35 to assist the CWDBH with the problems they have had. He stated, the House bills are “going to give the small districts more autonomy rather than having to follow state statutes.”
The proposed bylaws create “rules” for “forfeiture” of board seats in apparent violation of MCA 7-13-2261 “Recall of officers. Every incumbent of an elective office, …, is subject to recall by the qualified electors of any district …”
The bylaws list “Board Actions Prohibited Without prejudice to or limitation upon the general duties of the Board” and “Any Board member found by a majority vote of the board to be in violation of, or having committed a violation of any one of these prohibited actions will have given implied consent to automatically forfeit their seat and voluntarily resign as a board member of the District.” There is nothing in statute about “forfeiture” nor is it “voluntary” to require resignation if found by a majority vote of the board to be in “violation.”
The CWDBH has significant problems. The management and current board are determined to exert control over board members and ‘vote off’ or file a personal lawsuit against any board member who disagrees with the management.
Please ask legislators to reject HB0035 and rewrite the 2015 language to retain appointees.
Pam Ellis
Billings
