City raises questions for legislative panel

The Select Committee on Government Efficiency heard Monday about how state government has been passing its costs on to cities.

The 12-member panel of Montana legislators met at Flathead Valley Community College to discuss technology and local government issues.

The panel is chaired by state Sen. Jon Sonju, R-Kalispell, and will meet again today to discuss possible efficiencies in the Medicaid system.

Kalispell Mayor Tammi Fisher and City Manager Jane Howington addressed the panel Tuesday.

"State agencies have been transferring costs to cities without letting the cities know," Howington said.

Howington pointed to a new policy where the Montana Department of Transportation no longer pays for the lights it installs along roads in local jurisdictions.

"When they construct their roads and put street lights in, those costs are transferred to the city and we end up having to pay or assess our property owners to cover that," Howington said.

To make the situation worse, the state puts in more street lights than the city would have.

"They don't build the lights to city standards, they build them to state standards, so there's basically twice as many lights on the street as there would be if it was a local street, and then we have to pay for it," Howington said.

"Those kinds of things are happening more and more."

Multiple layers of government can add costs and slow up projects.

One local developer is renovating a historic building in Kalispell and wants to install a block of angle parking, but is struggling to get the needed government approval because the road is an urban network, Howington said.

"There's city regulations, county regulations and Montana Department of Transportation regulations. He wants to put that in, and nobody knows who's in charge and who goes first," Howington said.

"Is there a way for the state to pass down some of this oversight to the county or city, so instead of having to go through three levels of government we could only have to go through two or one?" she asked the panel.

Fisher and Howington said the state needs to give cities more leeway to develop economic development incentives and look at consolidations for fire departments, for instance.

Fisher also asked the panel to re-examine the state appraisal and valuation process because protested taxes are held and not forwarded to the city until the protest is settled.

"The process has created something of a bogged-down situation for us," she said.

Howington ended on a positive note, applauding the Montana Department of Revenue for starting to transfer revenue payments electronically.

"That's terrific from the city's standpoint. If we can use technology to cut through some of the red tape and paperwork, like the DOR is doing, that is really helpful and it saves us a lot of time," Howington said.

Sonju said technology-driven efficiencies are expected to be the backbone of the panel's study and recommendations.

"If we can get all of government working toward that and getting a technology road map together, I think we'd see tremendous returns for the taxpayer," he said.

Dick Clark, chief information officer for the State of Montana, gave an hourlong presentation on information technology issues and economics.

While technology promises to help the state save money and time, the state also needs to proceed with caution, Clark said, warning the panel to "beware the dragons."

"When the people who built maps way back when didn't know what was out there, they would put this [saying] up there in Latin. You need to be careful," Clark said.

Some of the "quick technology wins" Clark cited included:

- Developing systems to handle electronic signatures and records and manage them, to move toward truly paperless offices.

- Implementing a strategy to develop a stable, predictable, affordable and funded statewide network that will meet the state's needs for a decade or longer.

- Exploring the creation of data centers to back up records, offering the service to governments both in and out of the state.

- Looking for multi-state and regional solutions of IT needs.

- Developing a long-term strategy for the use of Geographical Information Systems as an aid for communication with citizens and to foster government services planning.

- Periodically re-engineering for better efficiency the dozen or so "high-touch" technology systems that are already in place in the state.

Sonju said the bipartisan panel plans to hold 10 meetings around the state. It will look for government savings and efficiencies in four main areas: budgeting, natural resources, technology and Medicaid.

"It cost $100,000 to put this together and I believe we can return those savings to the taxpayer and then some," Sonju said of the panel.

Sonju said recommendations put forward by the panel should have traction in the next legislative session.

Reporter Tom Lotshaw may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at tlotshaw@dailyinterlake.com.