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The Gallatin Valley Sentinel Protecting the land, people, and values.

06/18/2026

This Thursday, June 18 is the public hearing on Bozeman's proposed new city charter — one of the last chances to speak directly to the Study Commission before the language is finalized on August 6 and goes to a November ballot vote.

Here's how the evening works:
🕔 5:00 PM — Study Commission previews recommendations + food provided
🎤 5:30–7:30 PM — Public hearing
⏱️ You get approximately 3 minutes to speak

Can't make it in person? Join via Zoom — https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_iWr35aglT7WtyrzQkTttuw #/registration

Can't do Zoom? Email your public comment to [email protected] before noon on Thursday. Written comments become part of the official record.

Watch the full series playlist for a complete breakdown of every major proposed change to Bozeman's City Charter.

📍 City Hall — 121 N. Rouse Ave., Bozeman, MT

06/18/2026

It hasn't been that long since Bozeman had major issues with its city manager. The proposed charter had an opportunity to fix the accountability gap — and hasn't yet.

The city manager is arguably the most powerful unelected official in Bozeman. They run day-to-day operations, prepare the budget, supervise all city staff, and implement commission policy. But historically the commission has used that position as political cover — pushing unpopular decisions through the city manager while keeping their own hands clean.

The proposed charter adds an annual performance review — a step forward. But it doesn't include explicit enforceable boundaries restricting the city manager to an administrative role. The loophole is still open.

Study Commissioner Deanna Campbell submitted detailed recommendations to address exactly this. They were dismissed as "micro-managing." Preventing political cover is not micromanagement. It is basic accountability.

Commissioner Campbell's full recommendations: https://weblink.bozeman.net/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=316890&dbid=0&repo=BOZEMAN

📅 Thursday, June 18 | 🕔 5 PM preview + food / 5:30 PM public hearing | 📍 City Hall, 121 N. Rouse Ave. | 📧 [email protected] by noon Thursday

06/17/2026

The proposed charter adds an entire new article on public engagement — something the current charter doesn't have. But Bozeman's incoming mayor, Deputy Mayor Douglas Fischer, submitted public comment recommending the article be deleted entirely and replaced with "trusting future commissions."

Relying on political goodwill is precisely how Bozeman's government drifted so far from its residents in the first place.

Two problems remain in the new article: 1. Ad hoc committees can still be formed and filled without public notice — hand-picked groups behind closed doors with no accountability. 2. Board members can still vote on contracts that benefit themselves or their employers. This has happened repeatedly in Bozeman. The draft does nothing to stop it.

The fix: bright-line eligibility rules. Financial ties to the city means ineligible to serve. Period. All vacancies posted publicly. No exceptions.

📅 Thursday, June 18 | 🕔 5 PM preview + food / 5:30 PM public hearing | 📍 City Hall, 121 N. Rouse Ave. | 📧 [email protected] by noon Thursday

06/17/2026

Bozeman voters will choose between keeping 4 city commissioners or expanding to 6 — but most residents haven't been given a clear explanation of what either option means in practice.

More commissioners should mean more geographic representation and potentially break up the current groupthink. But it also means higher cost to taxpayers — especially without fixes to the proposed compensation board.

The bigger issue: the proposed charter doesn't address the mayor's voting role at all. The mayor remains a full voting member on every commission decision. In a city potentially moving toward ward-based elections, the mayor should be a neutral, consensus-building chair who only votes to break a tie. Belgrade — our nearest neighbor with ward-based elections — already operates this way.

Whether the commission stays at 4 or grows to 6, the mayor's role needs to change.

📅 Thursday, June 18 | 🕔 5 PM preview + food / 5:30 PM public hearing | 📍 City Hall, 121 N. Rouse Ave. | 📧 [email protected] by noon Thursday

06/17/2026

What happens when a commissioner — or the mayor — can no longer serve? The proposed charter isn't much different from the current one. Vacancies are still filled by commission appointment — just extended from 30 to 60 days. Most residents wanted a special election. The Study Commission wouldn't explore it further.

But the new charter has an even bigger problem: a direct internal contradiction. Section 2.06(a) says if the mayor is incapacitated, dies, resigns, or is removed, the vice mayor succeeds. Section 2.06(c) says a mayoral vacancy is filled by commission appointment within 60 days. Both are in the same proposed charter. They directly contradict each other.

The fix: The vice mayor succeeds automatically. If unable or unwilling, the role goes to an elected commissioner. Open appointment only as a last resort. Elected first. Appointed last.

📅 Thursday, June 18 | 🕔 5 PM preview + food / 5:30 PM public hearing | 📍 City Hall, 121 N. Rouse Ave. | 📧 [email protected] by noon Thursday

06/17/2026

For nearly 20 years, Bozeman has had a deputy mayor. The proposed charter eliminates that role entirely.

Under the current system, when voters elect a mayor, that person serves 2 years as deputy mayor first, then 2 years as mayor. The new charter creates a standalone elected mayor serving a full 4-year term from day one.

If the new charter passes this November, current mayor Joey Morrison will finish his term, and current deputy mayor Douglas Fischer will become mayor in January 2028 and remain mayor until January 2030. Starting January 2028, the commission will select a vice mayor from among themselves — not elected by voters, but chosen by fellow commissioners.

📅 Thursday, June 18 | 🕔 5 PM preview + food / 5:30 PM public hearing | 📍 City Hall, 121 N. Rouse Ave. | 📧 [email protected] by noon Thursday

06/17/2026

As of 2025, Bozeman city commissioners make $19,200/year plus benefits, and the mayor makes $41,612 per year plus benefits — both the highest paid in the state.

In comparison, Belgrade council members AND mayor each made $1,400/year in 2025.

The proposed city charter ties pay for commissioners and the mayor to a percentage of the Area Median Income for a family of four, which could push Bozeman salaries to $109,000/year.

The city commission currently sets their own salaries, and the new charter proposes moving that task to a new Compensation Board, but it is set up to have two sitting commissioners and the city's CFO as voting members on the board.

The fix would be to have four independent community members sit on the board, with the city's CFO in a non-voting advisory role, with zero elected officials on the board, and no formula for pay locked into the charter. If there's going to be an independent board, let it be independent.

📅 Thursday, June 18 | 🕔 5 PM preview + food / 5:30 PM public hearing | 📍 City Hall, 121 N. Rouse Ave. | 📧 [email protected] by noon Thursday

06/17/2026

This November, Bozeman voters will decide how their city commissioners get elected. The options are to keep the current at-large system — where every voter chooses every commissioner — or switch to a ward-based system where commissioners must live in the district they represent.

If wards pass, there's a second choice: does the whole city vote for each ward commissioner, or do only ward residents elect their own? Ward-only voting creates the most direct accountability — your commissioner answers exclusively to your neighborhood.

But there's a problem buried in Article VII of the proposed charter: the sitting city commission draws ward boundaries and can redraw them at any time, for any reason. The politicians whose seats depend on where those lines fall get to decide where the lines fall. That will build gerrymandering directly into the charter.

We think a better idea would be to have an independent citizen advisory board determine the ward boundaries. This board should exclude elected officials, city employees, and declared candidates for public office, and it must represent geographic diversity.

📅 Thursday, June 18 | 🕔 5 PM preview + food / 5:30 PM public hearing | 📍 City Hall, 121 N. Rouse Ave. | 📧 [email protected] by noon Thursday

06/16/2026

Before we dive into what's changing in Bozeman's proposed new city charter, let's talk about what's staying the same.

The proposed charter retains the commission-manager structure, four-year terms, and odd-year, non-partisan elections.

A lot is staying the same. But some things are changing, and those changes deserve a close look. We're breaking them down one short video at a time. Share this with a Bozeman neighbor who hasn't been following this process.

📅 Thursday, June 18 | 🕔 5 PM preview + food / 5:30 PM public hearing | 📍 City Hall, 121 N. Rouse Ave. | 📧 [email protected] by noon Thursday

The Study Commission Public Hearing is the single most important opportunity residents have to speak directly into the p...
06/14/2026

The Study Commission Public Hearing is the single most important opportunity residents have to speak directly into the process before recommendations are locked in for the November 2026 ballot.

Progress has been made, but there are still critical flaws in the draft charter that need to be fixed. We've broken down what's working, what's missing, and what you should ask for when you walk into that room. Read the full breakdown at https://www.thegvsentinel.com/the-charter-is-almost-there-heres-whats-still-broken/.

Citizens across this city have been waiting for a government that actually answers to them. That change doesn't happen without people in the room.

When? Thursday, June 18 — City Hall, 121 N. Rouse Ave
5:00 P.M. Public Hearing
Regular meeting of the Study Commission to follow.

Bring a neighbor.

If you cannot attend in person, register to attend online via Zoom at https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_iWr35aglT7WtyrzQkTttuw #/registration.

You can also email your public comments to [email protected].

The Study Commission needs to hear from everyone, not just the people who always show up or the organized factions who want to protect the status quo. If you've ever felt ignored by your local government, this is your chance to contribute toward changing it.

Please share far and wide.

Stay tuned over the next few days. We will break down what is changing in the proposed charter and what is staying the same.

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