The Cascade County Fee will proceed its battle with the Nice Falls Metropolis Fee over the make-up of a “governing physique” to supervise the Metropolis-County Board of Well being.
At Tuesday’s County Fee assembly, commissioners rejected a proposal by the Metropolis Fee as to the governing physique’s make-up.
The modification the town proposed would have created a everlasting governing physique consisting of two county commissioners and one metropolis commissioner, all of whom can be voting members.
Underneath the present interim settlement, the physique consists of all three county commissioners and a consultant from the town who will not be a voting member. That interim settlement expires on June 30.
The county particularly doesn’t agree that any metropolis fee member ought to have voting rights as a part of the physique.
The town and county are at the moment in litigation over the matter. The County Fee’s vote on Tuesday will enable that litigation to proceed and lengthen the short-term settlement by way of Dec. 31, 2022.
In occasions of emergency, the governing physique would have the ability to amend choices made by the Board of Well being.
Cascade County Commissioner Joe Briggs mentioned that though the problem at hand was the governing physique, it is part of a bigger fiscal challenge that has been a dispute between the 2 commissions for a few years.
The town and county’s unique settlement, crafted in 1975, was designed in order that the town and county would equally share the expense of the Cascade Metropolis-County Well being Division (CCHD), Briggs mentioned. He mentioned the town froze its contribution someplace alongside the road. As we speak, Briggs mentioned, the town pays $250,000 per 12 months towards CCHD, whereas the county pays $1.58 million.
Briggs mentioned 24,000 individuals dwelling exterior the Nice Falls metropolis limits are paying $63 a 12 months to subsidize a service that the town’s inhabitants pays solely $4 a 12 months for, regardless that metropolis residents are by far CCHD’s most frequent guests.
“That is an inequity that, for my part, shouldn’t stand,” Briggs mentioned. He added that he has spent a few years making an attempt to have a significant dialog with the town in regards to the challenge to no avail.
Marijuana tax
The Fee on Tuesday additionally handed two resolutions that may enable the general public to vote in November on a 3% tax on each medical and non-medical marijuana in Cascade County. The local-option tax is the utmost allowed below Home Invoice 701. The general public would vote on the tax on the November poll.
Tax abatements, cancellation
Two initiatives will obtain tax abatements after Tuesday’s assembly: Starry Evening Hospitality’s $5.8 million renovation of the previous Greystone Inn on Central Avenue downtown and the Nice Falls Clinic’s $50-60 million venture at 3010 fifteenth Ave. S.
The Nice Falls Growth Authority’s Brett Doney spoke in favor of each abatements. The entities’ taxes will improve by 20% per 12 months for 5 years till they’re absolutely taxed in 12 months six.
The Fee additionally authorized $74,000 in tax cancellation for actual property, private property and cellular houses, largely for empty and deserted cellular houses.
Allegations of nepotism
In the course of the public remark portion of the assembly, a half-dozen individuals addressed the fee asking it to look into eradicating Elections Administrator Rina Fontana-Moore from administering elections when she is on the poll. Additionally they expressed concern that Fontana-Moore’s relations have helped accumulate ballots when Fontana-Moore is up for election.
Cascade County Chief Civil Deputy County Legal professional Carey Ann Haight didn’t instantly return an electronic mail requesting remark Tuesday afternoon.
