Voters rejected a once-in-a-decade opportunity to overhaul local government for both the city of Billings and Yellowstone County, according to preliminary primary election results released Tuesday night.
The Montana Constitution gives voters in all 56 counties and 127 municipalities in the state the right to decide whether to audit their local governments every 10 years.
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Yellowstone County voters and election officials gathered at the Montana Pavilion at Metra Park for the primary election on Tuesday, June 4.
Amy Lynn Nelson, Billings Gazette
In Billings, 14,607 voters rejected the city overhaul and 7,821 voted in favor. The measure was defeated by a vote of 65% to 35%.
In Yellowstone County, 8,939 voters supported the local government audit and 23,217 voted against it. The audit was rejected by a vote of 72% to 28%.
Voters in the primary election will vote at the drop-off ballot box located outside the Montana Pavilion at MetraPark on Tuesday, June 4.
Amy Lynn Nelson, Billings Gazette
The county charged a steep fee of up to $490,365 to put the overhaul on the ballot, and the measure listed the potential increased costs of property taxes on various home values and warned it could lead to higher rents.
However, he did not mention that this increase was limited to just two years and was not an ongoing addition to property taxes, which continue to increase every year.
For the owner of a $300,000 home in Yellowstone County, the audits would cost about $4.05 a year. For the average taxpayer, that works out to less than $8.10 over the two-year period, according to Kevan Bryan, the county's director of management and budget.
The amount requested for the investigation was at least $130,365 more than was requested by any of Montana's other most populous counties, and more than double the amount requested by any of the state's largest cities, including the city of Billings, which capped investigation costs at $200,000.
On primary election day, Tuesday, June 4, voting signs will be posted at the polling place at Montana Pavilion in Metra Park.
Amy Lynn Nelson, Billings Gazette
The Billings ballot question simply asked voters whether to approve spending up to $200,000 on an audit of city government. No details were given on how much it would cost taxpayers.
Billings Finance Director Andy Zoller said the city has not yet decided how it would pay for the study if approved by the public. The money could have come from the general fund, he said, so it would not have been an additional cost to Billings property taxpayers.
The city could have added the cost of the review to property taxes, which would have cost the owner of the average Billings home about $3 a year, Zoeller said.
Voters will go to the polling place at Montana Pavilion in MetraPark on primary election day to cast their ballot in person.
Amy Lynn Nelson, Billings Gazette
Billings voters decided to overhaul city government in 1974 and 1994. Voters approved a study committee's recommendation in 1996 to amend the city charter by changing the mayor's term from two to four years.
Billings rejected the review in both 2004 and 2014, but city voters rejected it by a 54% to 46% vote.
A voter casts his ballot at Montana Pavilion at MetraPark in Billings on Election Day 2020.
Mike Clark, Billings Gazette
Yellowstone County voters have rejected the opportunity to audit their local government four times since 1984. In 2014, voters rejected an audit by 68 percent to 32 percent.
After its most recent review in 1974, the Yellowstone County Study Board's proposed changes were rejected because a majority of voters supported the current administration.
For more information, visit yellowstonecountymt.gov/elections
