HD 4 Democrats talk taxes, 'doughnut' dilemma

Property taxes, water quality and a resolution for the Whitefish “doughnut” jurisdictional dilemma are top issues in House District 4, where Democrats Tom Muri and Ed Lieser face off in the June 5 primary election.

Early voting starts Monday, May 7.

The primary winner will go against Republican Tim Baldwin in the general election in November. Baldwin, a Kalispell attorney, is a Pensacola, Fla., native who moved to the Flathead Valley in 2010.

Muri is a fifth-generation Montanan who grew up in Whitefish and has lived there continuously since 1964 except for his years in college and military service. Of the three candidates, he is the only one who lives in House District 4.

Lieser has lived in Whitefish since 1990 and lives on Lion Mountain, just a “stone’s throw” from the HD 4 boundary.

Muri calls himself a “Mustang” Democrat who embodies the pioneer spirit of Montana and is the polar opposite of a thoroughbred politician.

“I oppose big government,” Muri said. “Government needs to have defined goals, be well-supervised and provide effective service ... there are too many white-collar [state] employees pushing paper around instead of blue-collar workers with shovels in hand; government has become top-heavy.”

Lieser devoted his entire career to public service with the U.S. Forest Service and said managing public lands has allowed him to “experience and appreciate the diversity of opinions in our society.

“I am known as a good listener who seeks practical solutions,” Lieser said. “I take responsibility and I reliably do what I say I will do.”

BOTH CANDIDATES are concerned about the effect escalating property taxes are having on the resort community of Whitefish.

“Whitefish suffers from unfair property taxes,” Muri stated. “This session may be a golden opportunity to have the east side of the state buy into changing the process. Their values are increasing, too.”

Lieser said many residents along Whitefish Lake are struggling with exorbitant taxes. He would support putting a ceiling on property taxes and tying any tax increases to inflation rather than reappraisals.

Lieser is concerned about a recent study that identified some degradation of water quality in Whitefish Lake. He’d like to see grant funding pursued for preliminary engineering work to “ID what needs to be done” to preserve Whitefish Lake.

“My role [as a legislator] would be to ensure there are incentives and funding available to help communities address these issues,” he said.

Lieser would support tighter state regulations on septic systems, primarily around lakes, rivers and streams.

Water quality is equally important to Muri, who pointed out that during the oil spill on Whitefish Lake in 1989, “I was the only city official that raised hell.”

Muri said that even at the risk of losing support in certain areas of Whitefish, he would “aggressively pursue polluters of Whitefish Lake and damn the political consequences.”

FINDING A WAY for residents of the Whitefish “doughnut” — the two-mile ring of county land around Whitefish city limits — to have a say in Whitefish city government is a concern for both Democratic contenders. The city of Whitefish and Flathead County are embroiled in a legal battle over planning control for the doughnut area that was spurred largely by the city’s regulations for the two-mile area.

Both candidates said they would sponsor or support legislation to allow people in extraterritorial areas to legally participate in their city’s government.

Muri said he’s getting a feel from people about the doughnut issue as he visits residents in his district.

“The biggest mistake the city made was not taking the time to educate doughnut residents about what they wanted to accomplish” by having planning control of the area, Muri said. “I think the vast number of [doughnut] residents want good zoning and want to protect the value of their property.”

Lieser said he believes the governmental entity closest to the doughnut — the city of Whitefish in this case — has the best interest of those outlying residents in mind.

“I’d support some kind of law to provide a mechanism to represent those people,” Lieser said.

Another paramount state issue facing the next Legislature is finding a way to fund the state’s overdrawn pension plans. Montana’s pension plans for state employees are underfunded by about $3.4 billion over the next 30 years.

Muri likes most of what Gov. Brian Schweitzer has proposed. The governor favors diverting $25 million annually from State Lands revenue for the Teacher Retirement System, along with a 1 percent employee contribution increase and one-time $14.7 million employer contribution.

For the Public Employees Retirement System, Schweitzer proposes employers and employees each contributing an extra 1 percent to the retirement plans, and tapping the state coal-tax severance fund to the tune of $18.1 million per year. Local governments would chip in a little more money, too.

“The sooner it’s addressed the better,” Muri said. “I think it’s better to rip the Band-Aid off in one swoop.”

Because funding state retirement plans is mandated by the Montana Constitution, a solution must be found, he added.

“Employees will have to pitch in more, and it’s still a damn good deal for them,” Muri said.

Lieser wondered if a portion of the state’s nearly $500 million surplus could be devoted to fulfilling the retirement obligation. He also would like to explore the idea of blending a 401(k) with a defined benefit plan, similar to how the federal government deals with retirement plans.

Muri said he believes state government could be made more efficient if Montana had its own inspector general, similar to the system used by the U.S. military to address waste and unethical situations. Independent, nonpartisan, thorough investigations conducted by an inspector general could go a long way toward making state government more responsive to its citizens, he said.

BOTH DEMOCRATS support a state sales tax.

Muri said Whitefish’s 2 percent resort tax and how the revenue is used is a “perfect model” for how a state sales tax could work. Whitefish gives a portion of resort-tax revenue back to property owners as a rebate for property taxes; Muri said a state sales tax should do the same.

Lieser sees a state sales tax as a way for visitors to bear some of the cost of the resources they’re using. Such a tax would have to be structured so it wouldn’t adversely impact Montanans, he said.

On the topic of job creation, Lieser said investing more in education would generate better-paying jobs in the long run. He supports the creation of a community college system that would include the state’s technical schools.

Muri would like to see advertising campaigns — similar to those the state produces for tourism purposes — targeted to recruiting corporations to Montana. The state’s college graduates are one of its prized resources, he said, and bringing jobs to the state would allow more of those graduates to stay in Montana.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.