From a distance, the chairs tucked behind the council dais in Kalispell City Hall appear in tip-top shape.  

But looks aren’t everything: The chairs have supported city councilors and staff for more than 20 years. Upon closer examination, the dark brown, leather-like material stretched over the seats and arms has grown worn, scarred with scratches and cracks.  

No one knows more about the seats’ various flaws than the city councilors who plunk down in them week in and week out. 

Councilor Sam Nunally's chair will kick back on him as if it has a mind of its own, jolting him backwards. Councilor Ryan Hunter’s rides much too low. 

“It seems like every meeting I try to adjust it higher, and then I remember that I can’t adjust it any higher,” Hunter said.  

Even Mayor Mark Johnson’s chair has issues.  

“They’re uncomfortable; their springs don’t really work anymore. They don’t raise high enough anymore. The pistons are basically dead,” he reported.  

A fix could be on the way. City Manager Doug Russell has proposed using $10,000 from the forthcoming fiscal year’s office supply budget to replace 17 chairs in Council Chambers.

“We don’t want to see a councilman go over,” Johnson said. 

CITY HALL released a $182.2 million preliminary budget for fiscal year 2026 in May, about $1.5 million more than this year's approved budget. Council mulled over the preliminary budget during a series of spring meetings and is expected to approve a final financial framework in August.  

The acquisition of new chairs has been a long time coming, according to Russell. The city no longer has an invoice on file from when the seats were first purchased from Eurotech Seating because it was so long ago. 

Now, councilors suffer through the glitch-prone mechanical parts, worn cushions and minimal lumbar support.  

“I guess you could say maybe it’s janky,” Councilor Chad Graham said of his seat. 

Some councilors have turned to cushions to provide relief, which occasionally migrate between different chairs, said Hunter.  

“It’s kind of like a joke. They wind up in different people’s seats randomly,” he said. 

Asked if he had ever tried to take matters into his own hands, Johnson recalled trying to fix his home office chair once, a feat never again repeated.  

The job called for replacing the piston, but “by the time I was done, I’m like, I could have bought a new chair,” Johnson said.   

“After that experience trying to fix mine at home, I was like, I’m never doing that again,” he added.  

If the line item passes, the city will compare options from local businesses, according to Russell.  

Despite their quirks and faults, some councilors were not keen about allocating dollars to new chairs.  

Councilor Jed Fisher was adamant that he would vote against including them in the budget. 

“These chairs are just fine. There is no need for that kind of expenditure,” he said. “There’s so many other things that need to be done.”  

He said he’d rather see the money go to maintaining city trails, which there is currently no funding budgeted for.   

“I’ll sit on a lawn chair,” Fisher said. 

While Nunnally recognized the chairs’ many shortcomings, purchasing replacements is low on his priority list. He too expressed interest in diverting the money toward trail maintenance. 

WHEN THE budget line item was first introduced, Councilor Sid Daoud was the loudest opposition, arguing that council chairs should be uncomfortable.  

“The more uncomfortable you are, the more attentive and listening you are,” he recently told the Inter Lake. “So in my mind it should be kind of like a church pew.” 

Office chair replacements have been in the preliminary budget every year since he’s been on Council and it’s always voted out, Daoud said. 

“I’m pretty sure that’s what’s gonna happen again this year,” he said. “The city manager always puts it on there, and we always take it off.” 

While many councilors have been serving the public from their seats for years, no one is sentimental about the possibility of bidding farewell to them.  

“I don’t care,” Hunter, who is more than halfway through his second term, said about the thought of replacing his seat.  

Hunter said that sometimes supplies like chairs will be auctioned off to other departments or the public, but he doesn’t think they’d get any takers.  

“I doubt anyone would pay any money for them, so I doubt they will go anywhere other than probably the trash,” he said. 

Councilor Sandy Carlson declined to be interviewed. Councilors Kari Gabriel and Jessica Dahlman did not respond to multiple requests for comment.  

Reporter Jack Underhill may be reached at 758-4407 or [email protected].