In just over a week Douglas City Hall's problems spread outside the police department as two more department heads were put on administrative leave, a new investigation is in the works, and a request for a restraining order has been filed.

City Administrator Steve Henning on April 29 placed Deputy City Administrator Forrest Neuerburg on administrative leave with pay. The action follows an earlier decision (April 27) when he placed City Clerk/Treasurer Kori Pray on administrative leave with pay. However, immediately following Pray's leave, she filed a request for a restraining order against Henning in Circuit Court.


"She did that within hours after I put her on administrative leave," Henning said. "It's absolutely retaliation with (former Police Chief) Ryan (Evans), Kori and Forrest. It's a shame, but some people want to play hardball. There is no truth to any of this."

According to Circuit Court documents, Pray has accused Henning of threatening to kill her and of attempting to end her career, grabbing her arm and keeping her in an isolated room despite her protests. Pray has requested the court to order Henning to stay away from her home or "anywhere I am." While the order is not yet official, it is in affect until May 6 when a hearing is set.

Pray could not be reached for comment.

The same day Pray's order was requested, the Douglas City Council confirmed Henning's actions regarding her and Neuerburg and decided to undertake an investigation at City Hall. Neuerburg's leave is pending the outcome of the investigation, Henning said. Neuerburg could not be reached for comment.

Henning said the investigation likely will be conducted externally.

The news comes in the wake of the city's firing of Police Chief Ryan Evans and suspension of two officers April 25.

All of that has put the city in a difficult situation this spring because Pray had many responsibilities concerning the city's budgeting process, which is currently taking place. The budget must be complete by July 1.

Henning has recommended Deputy City Clerk Karen Rimmer as city clerk. The dual position of clerk/treasurer will be split back into two jobs as it was before Pray was hired, and a new or interim treasurer could take the job as soon as this week, Henning said Monday. (Former City Treasurer Jan Lampert has been hired by Henning as of Tuesday to fill in temporarily.)

"We're not creating a new position. We're putting it back," Henning said. "I'm in discussions with individuals who can come in during the short term for a replacement, but we may go out for a full replacement."

As of Tuesday, the council (minus Mayor Bruce Jones, who was out of town) held its fourth executive session in just over a week to discuss the investigation. Council President Marilyn Werner is acting mayor in Jones' absence, according to Rimmer.

Wener said the council did not take any action following the behind-closed-doors Skype session with City Attorney Peggy Trent.

Henning declined to comment about why Pray or Neuerburg were put on suspension.

Neuerburg has been deputy city administrator since September 2010, which was an advance from his previous position at the city as community development director and earlier as interim city administrator before Henning was hired.

While his future with the city is pending the outcome of the investigation, Neuerburg already was set to resume as community development director at the city July 1 and voluntarily leave the post as deputy city administrator.

Pray was appointed as treasurer in August 2010 by then-interim City Administrator Neuerburg after Lampert retired from the position. Last fall, the city combined the clerk and treasurer positions as a cost-cutting measure after the former clerk, the late Cheryl Ewing, announced her retirement from the city.

Pray's restraining order denied
Pray's restraining order denied By COLLIN MCRANN Douglas Budget A restraining order filed against City Administrator Steve Henning by City Clerk Kori Pray was dismissed in Circuit Court April 6 for lack of burden of proof and evidence after nearly four hours of testimony. Pray submitted a letter of resignation to the city council, Monday which was unanimously approved the same day.

Pray filed for the order just after being placed on administrative leave April 27 by Mayor Bruce Jones on Henning's recommendation. After the hearing, Pray declined to comment and Henning had little to say.


"From this moment forward, we are going to get the city back on track," Henning said.

Cross examinations of Pray, former Police Chief Ryan Evans, Henning, Sheriff's Office Investigator Eric Koss, City Attorney Peg Trent and City Deputy Clerk Karin Rimmer revealed that Pray had made numerous allegations against Henning to justify the restraining order request. Court documents state Pray accused Henning of verbal abuse, threats and grabbing her arm.

"It escalated in April 2011," Pray said during the hearing. "He told me I would suffer in the workplace because I'm a woman and he had pet names for me. I told him I was uncomfortable about being alone with him."

Pray contacted the Converse County Sheriff's Office April 14 on the recommendation of Evans, who was police chief at the time. Pray said she talked to Sheriff Clint Becker and investigators Koss and Ben Peech about Henning's alleged threats, but was advised the issue was likely a civil matter.

Koss and Peech conducted an investigation. Koss testified that, during an interview by himself and Peech with Pray April 14, Pray told them Henning threatened to "beat her brains out" April 13 at City Hall during a meeting between the two. Koss then said Pray claimed Henning had told her to lie to investigators, who were looking into the police department at the time.

However, one of Pray's accusations required some additional research because, according to Koss, she alleged Henning could have been involved with the death of former City Clerk Cheryl Ewing in 2010.

"We went and did an autopsy report," Koss testified. "(Pray) thought Ewing had died of a head injury. But (according to Ewing's autopsy), Ewing died of a broken aorta."

Koss detailed that during the interview he and Peech had persuaded Pray to wear a recording device into Henning's office to verify her accusations against him, which she, at first, agreed to. Koss said he and Peech then left Pray's residence for about 30 minutes to get the recorder, but when they returned, Pray had changed her mind.

"When we returned, Pray said she didn't want to do it anymore," Koss said. "It was obvious to me that she had been talking to somebody, she said, `I can't do it this week or the week after.' I said we need to do this today.

"I was concerned about it because if someone comes into my office with a problem, they want it solved, they don't change their mind."

When Henning took the stand, he refuted the claim that he "threatened to beat Pray's brains out," saying he has never said such words in his life and that he was "stunned" by her accusations.

"I did not yell or raise my voice at her. I did not threaten her career or employment," Henning said. "I'm a 62-year-old man, you don't do that."

Henning's management style also was brought into question concerning an April 15 meeting between Henning and Evans. Both agreed the meeting took place in Henning's office to address the issue of "how to not treat employees," but accounts of what happened differed when Henning called Pray into his office.

"He stood up and yelled at (Pray) and said he was unhappy about what she was doing," Evans testified. "She broke down and started crying - he then grabbed her arm and said he didn't mean it . . . I was extremely uncomfortable and didn't know what to think."

Henning said he had concerns about many things at City Hall at the time, including a close relationship between Evans and Pray, which was why he had the meeting with Evans.

"I said let's not be aggressive with employees. I was giving an example of how not to treat employees," Henning testified later. "I never grabbed her arm and did not yell.

"One of the problems I've had with the chief was him using the f-word around employees. I was getting emails from officers about problems in the department. I said no more locked-door meetings for two or three hours - these were the problems in our city."

Testimony also revealed that Pray was put on paid leave, partially, because of a letter found on Evans' computer. According to Trent and Evans, the letter was written by Evans and sent to Deputy City Administrator Forrest Neuerburg who has been on paid leave since April 29.

Though the actual contents of the letter were not released, it was presented to Pray by Henning, Rimmer and Council President Marilyn Werner April 27.

Pray said the letter outlined concern for her safety.

"She was a wreck in the workplace," Evans said during the hearing. "I wrote a letter about it to Forrest to document what had transpired."

According to Rimmer's testimony, the letter's contents were questionable.

"I was shocked and angry about the accusations (in the letter) - because I think it was all fabricated, quite frankly," Rimmer testified.

Henning testified he was "bothered by the strong allegations" contained in the letter.

Rimmer said once Pray was presented with the letter, the level of mistrust between her and Henning hit a breaking point.

According to Rimmer's testimony, Pray became upset about the content of the letter and had said she was fearful of Henning and said she wanted to leave the room, but she made no effort to do so.

Later the same day, Henning said he was served the restraining order by Koss.

As a result of Pray's restraining order, the city contracted Casper-based investigator Randy Bjorklund to look into the issue. According to Trent, Bjorklund interviewed numerous city staff as well as Koss. Bjorklund concluded Pray's claim was "unsubstantiated."

However, Pray's lawyer Thomas Valdez questioned Trent as to why neither Neuerburg nor Evans were interviewed for the investigation. Trent said she was not involved in who was picked for interviews.

Regardless, Judge Vincent Case said evidence was lacking to continue the restraining order.

"The court takes these issues very seriously," Case said. "Frankly, the burden of proof is often a composite and totaling of the evidence. Ms. Pray has not met that burden of proof and this court rules in favor of the defense."

Douglas-Budget.com

Sigh, I'll always miss the jewels she pasted in her cleavage.

ya she was a real gem.

I suspect one with many facets.

What does any of this have to do with Miles City?

Richard: Kori Pray was Miles City's City Clerk for about three years. She left in August or September last year. It's safe to say that nobody who worked at City Hall would be surprised by any of the things reported in the news articles posted above. In fact, it's eerie how similar the whole Douglas scenario is to what occurred during her tenure at City Hall - with the exception that apparently Douglas City Council's members were smart enough to keep their noses out of a City personnel issue.

zing

Hey Kelly. I didn't mean to "zing" anyone. In Dragnet speak, I'm just stating the facts, sir, just the facts. If those facts have some "zing" to them, it isn't any of my doing.

I used to love that show Dragnet LOL...(showing my age a bit)...sounds like that lady needs to get a different modus operandi (sp?)

[This message has been edited by howdy (5/15/2011)]

I like dragnet howdy. I also like golden girls, mash, walker Texas ranger, and murder she wrote. I'm 20. Good tv is good tv no matter how old you are!

...and here I thought this thread was about me coming back for the BHS this weekend.

Gunnar, I'm coming back the end of the month for a quick visit, no one is complaining about that either. I guess times change ; -)

Interesting that Douglas's Council wouldnt let her play her sick games there but she was able to keep her job in Miles City for so long doing the same thing. Could it be anything to do with the fact that she is now shacked up with Miles City's Council President....makes you think

It does make you wonder, especially since it has been alleged in the rumor mill that several (more than three) members of the city council violated open meeting laws by attending a party for her before she moved, without publicly noticing that they would be meeting. It has been further alleged that these members only received a "slap on the wrist" for this.

Gunnar and Hal: Here's the recipe for getting people to rue your return to Miles City:

Date two of your bosses simulataneously and then tell your coworkers all the sordid details for hours on end, even when they make it clear they don't want to hear about it. Then spread all sorts of crazy rumors about how a third boss is stalking you but you don't blame him because you are, after all, the prettiest (wo)man in town so who can blame him... but really, you think maybe you better call the police because he's starting to scare you. And then, when your coworkers start ignoring not just your off-the-wall stories but also you in general, do your best to make them miserable and even try to get a couple of the best ones fired by using your influence over one of those cuckolded bosses of yours who oh-so-devotedly is willing to do anything you ask.

If those methods don't work, there are several more surefire techniques that folks around town had the misfortune of observing, any of which can be "employed" to completely wear out your welcome in Miles City - which otherwise is one of the friendliest places on earth!

(Note to Kelly - there may be a "zing" or two in there, but you and I both know that there's so much zingy rope laying around that someone was bound to get hung up in it sooner or later. And maybe, if justice prevails, that's exactly what will happen to those who have behaved as if they're above having to comply with the rules that the rest of us have to live by. Even Senator Ensign had to resign when he engaged in shameless shenanigans. Just sayin'...)

Edit: Given the "plain talkin'" of the above posts, I may as well state my last sentence more plainly as well:
If a United States Senator has to resign for mixing business with pleasure, shouldn't a City Council President have to do the same?

[This message has been edited by Steve Craddock (5/16/2011)]

>>If those methods don't work, there are several more surefire techniques that folks around town had the misfortune of observing, any of which can be "employed" to completely wear out your welcome in Miles City. . . .

Steve, I worked on that for close on to 30 years - had it down to science or fine art there for awhile ; -) Didn't involve banging bosses though - maybe that's what it takes to build a lasting legacy.

Well Hal, I guess now you know... What you do with that knowledge is totally completely 100% up to you!

Kelly, you mentioned this:

It does make you wonder, especially since it has been alleged in the rumor mill that several (more than three) members of the city council violated open meeting laws by attending a party for her before she moved, without publicly noticing that they would be meeting. It has been further alleged that these members only received a "slap on the wrist" for this.

Given the very real economic costs that the taxpayers of Miles City suffered as a result of the above-mentioned shenangins, the violation of the open meetings law seems pretty inconsequential. Unless, of course, a decision with bearing on City business was made by those councilmembers who were present at the party.

On that note, one could wonder if in fact a decision was made by the members of the Council present at that party to collude with the City Clerk and Council President to keep the Clerk's planned resignation a secret from the Mayor until the very DAY she quit. The Mayor is Miles City's CEO and the Clerk's immediate supervisor. If those councilmen knew that the Clerk wasn't going to give any notice of resignation, then that would be a real and consequential violation of civic trust that the citizens of Miles City vested in those councilmen at election-time.

For a City's chief financial officer to quit without providing advance notice is irresponsible. For council members, especially the council president, to keep secret from the City's chief executive officer a pending resignation of a key city employee is completely and totally unethical. In fact, if it isn't criminal it sure ought to be because the very welfare of the CITY is involved.

Add the potential costs of that risk to the other very real costs mentioned above caused by the months and months of shenanigans (e.g., lost productivity due to low morale, time spent dealing with complaints and counter-complaints, bringing in an outside arbritrator, etc.), and Miles City's taxpayers have something very real to be upset about.

It's astounding that individuals entrusted to man the helm of the City's business chose instead to engage in fun and games and one-upsmanship. Put another way, when it came down to making a choice between serving the public trust or acting in their personal self-interest, selfish pettiness won out.

Which brings me to my point, and then I'm done with this thread cuz I get sick to my stomach just remembering all of it:

If Miles City had the kind of leaders the City of Douglas has, then the leaders of the City of Douglas would NOT have had to handle a problem that SHOULD HAVE BEEN handled in Miles City.

She sounds like "borderline personality disorder"...which is always having to be the center of attention...Hmmmmmm...I agree totally with Steve...

Violation of the open meetings law is serious stuff. I am on the local conservation district board and we were all required to attend training on Wyoming's open meeting law. We were instructed that if two board members happened to be in the same place (say talking at the Post Office) and a third member joins us one of us has to immediately leave the conversation, as that gathering can be construed as a meeting with a quorum present. We public notice our board holiday party, for that reason. I am pretty sure that the Montana law is similar.

Sounds like an investigation into whether the open meetings law was broken is in order, and the council president needs a dis-ahner-able discharge.

I've got no dog in this fight, but to be fair I think you'd need 5 council members for a quorum. So unless that was the case, we might be jumping the gun a bit.

I thought a quorum was generally a simple majority?

QUOROM

 "Meeting" means the convening of a quorum of the constituent membership of a public agency or association described in 2-3-203, whether corporal or by means of electronic equipment, to hear, discuss, or act upon a matter over which the agency has supervision, control, jurisdiction, or advisory power. (MCA 2-3-202)

 General: A majority of the members of the council constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. (MCA 7-5-4121)

 Commission Form of Government: In cities having a mayor and two council members, the mayor and one council member or two council members constitute a quorum and the affirmative vote of the mayor and one council member or the affirmative vote of two council members is necessary to adopt or reject any motion, resolution, or ordinance or pass any measure. In cities having a mayor and four council members, the mayor and two council members or three council members constitute a quorum and the affirmative vote of the mayor and two council members or the affirmative vote of three council members is necessary to adopt or reject any motion, resolution, or ordinance or pass any measure. (MCA 7-3-4221(1))

v Weak-Mayor Form of Government: A town with a weak-mayor form of municipal government does not have authority to adopt by ordinance the quorum provisions of MCA 7-3-4221. Those provisions would conflict with MCA 7-5-4121, which states that a majority of the members of the town council constitute a quorum and does not include the mayor as a member of the town council for the determination. (AGO # 20, Vol. 47).

 Town Meeting Form of Government: A quorum consists of at least 10% of the qualified electors of the town, but a higher quorum requirement may be established by a majority vote of the town meeting. (MCA 7-3-603(3)

 Where two of three County Commissioners discussed by telephone the approval of a preliminary plat of a subdivision, a "meeting" as defined in 2-3-202 took place, and the Commissioners were subject to the requirement that notice of the meeting be given in accordance with statute. (Supreme Court Bd. of Trustees v. County Comm'rs, (1980))

http://doa.mt.gov/content...utes07.doc

Richard: I agree with you that the Open Meetings law is a serious and good law that should be honored at all times. I was just making the the point that unless a decision was made, the effects of breaking it are pretty inconsequential for the taxpayers - especially when compared to the other violations of public trust that occurred by the parties involved here.

Seeing as Kelly was on the City Council at one time, we should probably listen to him regarding what constitutes a quorum of Miles City's council members. One important facet that has been overlooked so far is that there is a quorum number that pertains to Council meetings, and a much lower quorum number that pertains to meetings of the Committees of the Council. Both are equally subject to and governed by the Open Meetings law.

Does anyone know if there are any rules or laws against dating a coworker in this situation?

Deputy city admin resigns
Wednesday, May 18, 2011 2:02 pm

Deputy city admin resigns Collin McRann Douglas Budget | 0 comments

The Douglas City Council on Friday accepted the resignation of Deputy City Administrator Forrest Neuerburg, who had been on paid leave since April 29 pending the outcome of multiple investigations into a variety of city departments and former employees.

During the special meeting May 13, the council voted unanimously to accept Neuerburg's resignation letter, which was received the previous day by City Administrator Steve Henning. Councilman Dave Angiolillo was not present for the meeting.


"We got his letter hand delivered Thursday at 10 p.m.," Henning said.

Neuerburg is the third department head to leave the city in less than a month. Police Chief Ryan Evans was fired by the city council April 25, and City Clerk Kori Pray resigned May 9 after also being placed on administrative leave with pay pending the investigations.

Neuerburg's letter of resignation stated he had different personality and management conflicts with the new city administration. Prior to being named deputy city administrator, Neuerburg was the city's interim city administrator until Henning was hired, and prior to that he was the community development director for about 14 months.

Neuerburg was recently involved in controversies at the city involving the Police Department due to a letter sent to him by Evans concerning Pray's well being.

Technical Analyst Mike Roy will be the acting community development director while the city searches for a permanent replacement, Henning said. Earlier during this city upheaval, Hennning had suggested the deputy city administrator position might be eliminated completely and that Neuerburg might be allowed to return to his initial duties, but that was prior to Neuerburg being placed on leave.

Also last week, the city council voted unanimously to appoint Karen Rimmer as city clerk and Janice Lampert as interim finance director. Henning said the city will also advertise for a permanent finance director.

The city clerk and finance director positions, which had been combined late last year, have been vacant since May 9 when Pray resigned.

Rimmer will be earning $33,000 a year as city clerk. Lampert is on contract for $70 per hour as city treasurer.

The meeting concluded with an executive session for personnel matters.

douglas-budget.com

I saw in the Star that the Council once again completely ignored the advice of the City's attorney. This is nothing new but it also never ceases to amaze me because:
A) they pay the man to provide them with legal advice - which they then time and again completely ignore (at the City's peril);
B) the City Attorney happens to be one of the best attorneys in the Great State of Montana (so why wouldn't you heed his legal advice?); and
C) the man is a former Miles City elected official himself, so he has the added benefit of knowing the Council's business from all angles.

This is more proof that certain members of the Council actually do think - and then act upon - the belief that the laws of the land that apply to little people like you and me DO NOT apply to them. For some reason, they think they are either above the law or smarter than everyone else. (Brings back memories of Enron, and we all know what happened to that company.)

If these council members don't figure out that they are just as little as the rest of us regular citizens, Miles City is going to find itself in big trouble one day. And that trouble won't be paid for by the "smart" guys - oh no. It will be paid for by the good taxpayers of Miles City. Sort of like the Wall Street bailouts.

It seems to me Miles City had just paid a whole bunch of money to settle several lawsuits that resulted from the last elected official who thought he was above the law. Have the citizens of Miles City really forgotten the pain of shelling out all that money because of one man's silly shenanigans?

[This message has been edited by Steve Craddock (5/21/2011)]

The only city attorney anyone ever listened to was my dad. Except me, of course.

Your Dad was smart enough to marry your Mom - so of COURSE people listened to him!

Councilmen accused of harassment
By Elaine Forman
Two councilmen accused of harassing a City Hall employee in August 2010 voted against amending the budget to pay for the incident investigation at the June 28 Miles City Council meeting. On Tuesday a public hearing will be held for Resolution 3406 at the regularly scheduled city council meeting.
In an interview following the meeting, Mayor Joe Whalen said councilmen Mark Ahner and John Uden were accused of harassment last August.
Ahner is up for reelection to the council this year, where he is running unopposed in Ward 3, and Uden is a candidate for mayor.
Labor negotiator Jeff Minkler conducted the investigation, which cost the city $1,753. That caused the council's professional services account to be overrun by $350, resulting in the resolution to amend the budget, he explained.
Whalen told the council last week that Minkler's investigation determined that harassment did occur.
The first reading of the resolution to pay for the investigation passed with a vote of 6-2, with Ahner and Uden voting against.
Whalen said that on Aug. 19, 2010, then-city clerk Kori Pray notified the mayor that she was resigning, effective the following day (a Friday).
According to Whalen, over the weekend a going-away party was held with five councilmen in attendance, which constitutes a quorum. At the party a decision was made to "insist" that the city's Human Resource Officer cut a check for Pray immediately, he said.
The Human Resource Officer was not working Monday so Ahner and Uden ordered another employee, who had never cut checks, to do the task, Whalen said. She refused.
Whalen said the councilmen did not have the authority to direct employees and they asked the employee to violate the city's personnel policies and procedures and state law.
The city does not cut checks for people resigning until the following payday, which was two weeks away at the time, he added.
Because of the incident, Whalen said he prohibited Uden and Ahner from approaching the City Hall employee without the mayor present. That order still stands, he said.
Contacted Thursday, Uden said he was present during the alleged incident but didn't speak, and he didn't believe any harassment occurred.
Ahner, who also was contacted Thursday, said he had no comments at this time.

Front page of Miles City Star

Tip of the iceberg regarding Council president Ahner's misdeeds at City Hall, but at least one of them has come to light. What an irony that his desire to quash payment of the investigation is what finally resulted in the public being informed of one aspect of his misbehavior and abuse of public trust when it came to his relationship with the former City Clerk.

As for Mr. Uden stating that he didn't think any harrassment occurred, the irony there is that he once championed an anti-bullying policy. If he didn't recognize what happened in that room that morning as bullying, then he doesn't have the moral authority to author an anti-bullying policy.

More importantly, I ask you this: Does a man (and former police officer!) who stood by as Mr. Ahner attempted to bully a city employee into violating a City policy - and took no action to stop it - have the skill and judgment required to be mayor of Miles City?

I think not. Just sayin'

[This message has been edited by Steve Craddock (7/8/2011)]

How long does one have to be a resident of to run for City council?

Question: Is the current mayor running for re-election? He hadn't yet filed as of late June, and I believe the deadline for filing was June 30?

Yes, he is running.

http://www.milescitystar....php#story5

I see Butch Grenz is also running for mayor again.

I hope the younger voters of MC realize what a difference Joe Whalen has made to the town. It will take their tenacity to see Joe fight off a bid from Uden. Wish I could still vote.

should implement a "no re-hire" policy similar to Wally World in order to prevent Mr. Grenz from being Mayor again...

And Mr. Uden is a worthless pile of procreate.

At one time when John Uden was a police officer for the city of miles city. Our council then voted to garnish his wages as he had neglected to pay his water and sewer bills for many months. Mayor kurkowski had his wages deducted with what he owed the city. He wants to run our city now.

How long does one have to be a resident of to run for City council?

Johnny Law running for mayor.......sonofabitch.

Hey Ricardo. Interesting question. I wondered about that, too, and tried to find the info on the City's website and other places on the internet - all without success.

Can anyone out there answer Richard's question?

Or are we going to have to do the old-fashioned thing and call City Hall?

Montana Code Annotated
[f]7-4-4301. Qualifications for mayor.
(1) A person is not eligible for the office of mayor unless
the person:
(a) is at least 21 years old;
(b) has been a resident of the state for at least 3 years; and
(c) has been a resident for at least 2 years preceding the election
to office of the city or town or an area that has been annexed
by the city or town.
(2) The office of mayor of a city or town is considered vacant
if the individual elected as mayor ceases to be a resident
of the city or town.[/f]

Thanks Dave!

Does my "virtual residence" here on mc.com count? It is just irritating as hell to me that Mark Ahner is running unopposed. Even if someone did a write-in, Ahner should be held accountable for his actions over the last term in office.

What district does he represent? Please tell me it's where Ship lives.

[This message has been edited by Buck Showalter (7/10/2011)]

Ward 3. Maybe someone has a Ward map?

Thank you Mr. Schott - you were one of three folks that I was fairly sure would be able to find the answer faster than a speeding ballot.

With those criteria, certainly there are a LOT of qualified people who also have the more important qualifications of being:

Ethical
Intelligent
Energetic
Civilized
and (hold your breath!)
Visionary.

Yep, I used the V word. There are members of the current council who actual view vision as a bad thing. In fact, at the first Council meeting I attended, Mayor Whalen asked each councilman to explain their vision for Miles City. Two provided cohesive answers, most didn't. And then there was Mr. Meidinger who actually stated (with pride!!!): I ain't got no vision.

If Miles City is going to thrive and not simply survive, it's going to need some folks who have the vision to see beyond the way that things "have always been done." Having three generations of kinfolk buried in the Custer County Cemetery doesn't equate to understanding what's best for the FUTURE of Miles City.

Now, I admit that I only lived in Miles City for three years and I don't claim to know what is best for the town --- but there may be some similarly recent arrivals who have a pretty clear vision of where to begin. And I know there are many long-term residents and natives of Miles City who have a great vision of what Miles City should and CAN be.

And there's one other thing about Miles City that I absolutely know for sure and certain: The good people of Miles City deserve much, much better LEADERSHIP than they have received from this past crop of councilmen. It was sad and almost perverse to see the worst of the bunch drive out the best of their brethren, resulting in the current confederacy of dunces. Pathetic is the word that comes to mind.

So, my hope and prayer for Miles City is that a slate of visionary candidates step forward, and then that the citizens of Miles City meet their civic duty to VOTE and elect them. Otherwise, they'll just get another City Clowncil to groan and complain about instead of a City Council they can be proud of.

And if that happens, the good people of Miles City will have nobody but themselves to blame because in a democracy, the government is only as good as the people who vote.

when i read the title, i was afraid it had to do with the upcoming Bonine family reunion. .

Are the residency requirements the same for City Council as they are for Mayor?

Edit:

Found the answer.

7-4-4401. Qualifications for city council member. A person is not eligible for the office of city council member unless the person is a resident for at least 60 days preceding the election to office of the ward electing the person or of an area that has been annexed by the city or town and placed in the ward.

Any houses for rent in Ward 3?

[This message has been edited by Richard Bonine, Jr. (7/11/2011)]