Fisher offers experience; supports resort tax

Darin Fisher

Age: 42

Family: Wife Carla, and children Hazel and Soren

Occupation: Brewer/owner of Backslope Brewing

Background: BA, Bowling Green State University; board member of Gateway to Glacier Trails; have served on Columbia Falls City Council for eight years

Website or email address: N/A

Q. Columbia Falls has seen significant commercial and residential growth in recent years. Is the city doing enough to guide economic growth, both in city limits and in the city’s outlying planning jurisdiction?

A. The city is doing a good job of guiding economic growth by enacting and enforcing reasonable regulations while respecting private property rights and operating within the appropriate laws.

Q. Do you support a Columbia Falls resort tax? Why or why not?

A. A resort tax allows the city to charge visitors to town for the public safety, infrastructure and city resources that they are using. The city, by law, has to transition from an all-volunteer fire department to a paid fire department in the near future, and city residents will have to foot the entire bill for this unless a resort tax allows visitors to help pay for it. I support a resort tax in Columbia Falls precisely because it will decrease the tax burden on locals by letting visitors contribute to the tax base.

Q. Is the city of Columbia Falls doing enough to address affordable/workplace housing?

A. The city has been good at fostering an environment that allows private development to provide affordable housing options. The city itself has limited tools to directly address these issues, but the recent construction of affordable apartments, and the plan for more, shows that the city is providing an environment suitable to this type of development.

Q. What qualities make you the best candidate for a council position?

A. I have been an elected member of City Council for eight years, so I have a good understanding of how the process of local governance works. I also have a breadth of different experiences that give me varied perspectives on issues that come before the council. I am a business owner now, but previously I worked for the Forest Service, so I understand both the private and public sectors. I am a father of young children, and I am fully invested in the Columbia Falls community.