The Whitefish Local Government Study Commission approved their final report with a 4-1 vote Wednesday. The report recommends no changes be made to the Whitefish City Charter. 

Commissioners Saundra Alessi, Scott Wurster, Kevin McDowell and Dakota Whitman voted in favor; Nathan Dugan was the sole nay.  

The purpose of a study commission is to review the form and powers of local government every ten years, if elected to do so by voters.  

Commissioners sought advice and information from local government officials, community organizations and citizens, and held an open house and public hearings to solicit feedback to inform their evaluation of Whitefish’s government, according to their report. 

“Sixty-four percent of people wanted at least some changes to local government,” Dugan said, explaining his vote. “Further evidence is voting for a local government review in the first place. I wish we had explored potential changes to put to voters a little more, because I think there’s an appetite for that.”  

At the previous July meeting, Dugan motioned to recommend for a future ballot question for Whitefish voters a maximum of three Council term limits. The motion failed 3-2, with Whitman also voting in favor. 

Dugan also vouched for putting on the voters’ ballot a consideration of district/ward-based elections versus at-large elections.  

Both ballot considerations are included in the minority opinion section of the final report.  

The final report includes the full results of a survey put out to Whitefish residents last spring. The survey received 286 responses and included over 1,000 essay-style answers.  

In the survey, 73% of respondents said yes, they are satisfied with the current form of local government. For those who said no, most said they would prefer a commission-executive (mayor-led) or a town hall form of government.   

If “they had to vote tomorrow,” 35% said they would vote to keep the government the same, 37% said they would vote for a few changes, while 25% said they would make major or complete changes.  

A little less than half of respondents, 45%, said that elected officials should run in districts, operating in wards, rather than at-large.  

About a quarter of people vouched for partisan local elections.  

More than half of the respondents, 53%, would prefer that the zoning administrator, who currently reports to the City Manager, report to City Council instead.  

Most people, 59%, said yes, the local government makes good use of taxes and fees collected.  

Responses to “is the local government representative of the whole community?” were mixed.  

As a whole, the anonymous 1,000 or so essay-style responses ranged in the vein of “don’t fix what isn’t broken” to “address the dark underbelly.”  

During public comment Aug. 6, City Councilor Rebecca Norton suggested to the Commissioners that a running list of historical recommendations be made.  

Norton said she noticed some recommendations that were made in 2015’s local government study that had not been implemented, and that many of the same issues carried forward to 2025’s study.  

“So in 10 years, we can look and see, if we didn’t get it then - that maybe this time, it’s time,” she said, adding that it would also help enable City Council to make changes in the interim.  

Roger Hopkins of the Columbia Falls Local Government Study Commission commented that their Commission plans to recommend a new plan to Columbia Falls’ Council to incorporate self-government powers.   

THE TENTATIVE REPORT first saw a public hearing July 2. 

Commissioner Wurster raised concerns about the reliability of the survey. He said that of the quarter or so of people wanting major changes to the government, half of those were of an interest group focused on impact fees and eliminating the City Manager position, and the other half were in support of Dugan’s ballot suggestions due to organized advocacy. 

Commissioner Whitman put forth recommendations that the Council adopt a few minor changes. These recommendations were ultimately approved by the Commissioners to be included in an appendix of the final report.  

The recommended changes are: the majority of members on boards/committees should have demonstrable experience; all board and committee meetings should be recorded; and that the boundaries for residency requirement to serve on boards and committees should be expanded to include those who reside in the Whitefish School District.  

Commissioner Alessi also put forth a recommendation that Council address, by either removing or implementing, a purportedly unnecessary section of the City Charter which outlines how Council appoints board and committee members, which has not recently been followed.  

During public comment, resident Richard Hildner raised questions about the survey including a “town hall” option. He said that a town hall structure is generally not permitted with populations over 1,000.  

Hildner in addition to resident Marti Brandt expressed concerns with limited representation in the survey.  

Brandt in addition to residents Lina Camero and Mallory Phillips commented in support of both the recommendations in the appendix and in the minority opinion.  

At both the July and August meetings, Commissioner Chair Kevin McDowell expressed disappointment with limited public participation in the study as a whole.  

The final report, including the recommendations within the appendixes and the minority report, will be given to City Council, to consider implementing, investigating or taking no action.