Time Capsule: Forging one district, Joint police plan, Tribal tax

Mission Valley News, February 22, 1990

Mergers blowin’ in the wind 

Mission still interested in forging one district 

ST. IGNATIUS - The notion of consolidating area school districts isn't dead, according to Mission superintendent Sherry Pasquale. It's just resting.

A merger of Arlee and St. Ignatius school districts was proposed early this month, when the two school boards held a joint meeting in Arlee. At its monthly meeting on Feb. 8, Arlee board members turned down a motion to put consolidation of the districts on the April ballot.

While trustees were intrigued with the concept, they opted to take more time to consider the pros and cons of a merger.

According to Pasquale, St. Ignatius trustees "were sorry" that consolidation was voted down in Arlee, but agreed to "explore the possibility of the two boards meeting again" to consider other cooperative ventures. The Mission board discussed the matter at its regular meeting last Tuesday night, Feb. 13.

Both school boards still have the option of proposing consolidation at a later date and scheduling a special election. However, "in order to make it feasible for the coming funding year, time is of the essence," Pasquale said.

The state has offered an annual incentive payment of $210,000 to those school districts that join forces … 

City considers joint police protection plan

ST. IGNATIUS - Police protection has long been a thorny subject for this community — a subject Mayor Ken Hurt hopes to discuss with Lake County Commissioners this week.

St. Ignatius hires one full-time police chief, Wayne Mitchell, and has gone through several relief officers in recent years in an effort to make Mitchell's job more manageable.

The problem, according to Hurt, is that one officer can't provide around-the-clock protection. That leaves the remainder of the job to relief officers, who work an average of 10 days a month.

If the officer is certified by the state police academy, he or she is likely to seek more full-time employment, leaving St. Ignatius once again in the market for a part-time officer.

The council spent $4,000 educating a relief officer two years ago, only to lose the police academy graduate to a full-time job in Ronan. "You can't blame him," said Hurt. "But it was an exorbitant cost for us." The current relief officer, Don Staves, is not certified and the city currently has no intention of funding his education. According to Hurt, the state attorney general has ruled that officers who work fewer than 1,800 hoursa year do not need certification.

But commissioner Ray Harbin worries that an uncertified officer "could create a liability problem." Harbin says …

MACO studies tribal tax 

Montana Association of Counties members are currently working on responses to tribal taxation on Indian reservations that include federal reimbursement to businesses and economic development tie-ins with tribal governments.

According to Lake County Commissioner Ray Harbin, who attended the MACO midwinter meeting in Billings last week, the reservation county delegates want to develop tax options that would be fair for all parties concerned. "The issue, as it appears to most people, is that it's unfair to be taxed doubly," he said.

Another meeting on the taxation issue was held in Helena last Thursday by an interim legislative committee on Indian affairs. The session was designed as an informational forum for both tribal and state government officials …