Daniel Thompson is running for his second full term on the St. Ignatius Town Council in hopes of finding new revenues sources for the town, while also making improvements.  

Sixty-year-old Thompson is originally from Northwest Arkansas but moved to St. Ignatius in 2005. He’s married and has five kids; however, one has passed away. He was appointed to fill a half term and following that he served a full term on the council last year.  

Thompson’s priority is to do what is best for the town, which he explained as finding new revenue avenues, without increasing the tax burden. He cites finances as the town’s biggest challenge and said annexations of areas near town will elevate the town's property tax revenue.  

“Our poor little town is honestly already kind of taxed to the max, so we’ve got to find creative ways to bring in that revenue,” said Thompson, who works at Mountain View Cenex.  

St. Ignatius does not receive an official mill levy, and it is dependent on taxable property for revenue. Thompson said the areas around town have grown so expanding the city limits would increase the population, which would increase the taxable income revenue from county and state.  

Thompson explained St. Ignatius is a good little town that could use some improvements including adding more full-time police officers, finishing the four-phase sewer project, and boosting the water capacity.  

“We had a fire here a couple of years ago, just down the street that drew a lot on that water, and if it had been a much bigger fire, it would have been hurting,” Thompson said. “One of the things we need to look at is improving our water storage capacity. That also comes with the ability to grow, is increasing our water capacity.” 

Thompson worked in law enforcement back in Arkansas. When he first moved here, he didn’t feel like he was a part of the community. However, after raising his kids here, he loves the town and wants to do what he can to help it move forward.