As Kalispell searches for Doug Russell’s successor, City Council on Monday will mull over rescinding a municipal code requiring city managers to live within city limits.  

Council meets on Monday, Sep. 8 at 7 p.m. in City Hall, 201 First Ave. E. 

Russell departed in August after being hired as Lakewood, Washington’s city manager. GMP Consultants was hired last month to spearhead the four- to six-month recruitment process for a new city manager and Development Services Director Jarod Nygren took over as interim city manager in the meantime.  

Councilor Sam Nunnally first introduced the idea of eliminating the residency requirement for city managers at the tail end of an August meeting. He said the requirement may limit the applicant pool.  

Councilors will also discuss the position’s salary. Russell’s pay in Kalispell for fiscal year 2025 was $204,490 plus health insurance and retirement. 

Based on a review of wages in six comparable cities in the state, the proposed starting salary range for the incoming city manager is between $195,000 and $207,000, according to a memo from Director of Human Resources Denise Michel. 

“This recommendation ensures the city remains competitive in attracting and retaining high-quality candidates while maintaining equity with similar jurisdictions,” Michel wrote.  

COUNCIL WILL also engage in further discussion with the Northwest Montana History Museum regarding the nonprofit’s request to acquire the Central School building. 

While many Councilors voiced wholehearted support to hand over the deed in July, there was debate on whether it was the responsibility of the body to ensure the building remains a museum under nonprofit status in perpetuity, owing to worry that the museum may eventually run into financial trouble, leaving the building at risk of falling into private hands. 

The municipality has leased the brick and stone building at 124 Second Ave. E. to the nonprofit since 1997, but the agreement has made it difficult to raise money from private donors and apply to funding programs, according to museum leadership.  

The 130-year-old building also requires upgrades like a climate-controlled archival storage space and repairs like fixing water drainage in the basement.  

Aside from an initial city investment in 1997, the museum has been responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the space, according to city documents.  

COUNCIL IS expected to ponder hiring a third party to deal with ambulance billing for the Kalispell Fire Department.  

Kalispell is the only class one city — a city with more than 10,000 people — that still manages billing in-house, according to a memo from Fire Chief Jay Hagen.  

The task is currently done by one full-time employee, but call volumes are expected to surpass 5,000 billable alarms in the next year, according to the memo.  

“Moving towards third party billing will ensure the city is taking the necessary steps to improve collection rates through specialized expertise, software and compliance practices,” Hagen’s memo read.  

Reporter Jack Underhill can be reached at 758-4407 and [email protected].