Butte–Silver Bow commission finalizes charter ballot language, adds volunteer coordinator clause to unified fire services option

The Butte–Silver Bow Local Government Study Commission on June 1, 2026 approved several revisions to proposed charter ballot language and agreed to submit the corrected packet to the Montana Secretary of State for review.

County Attorney Matt Enrooth presented reworded ballot text intended to align with Montana statutes governing charter questions and said the edits were largely stylistic to match statutory phrasing such as "for adoption" and "for retaining." Enrooth also explained that additional wording on "operational, administrative, and budgetary authority" in the unified fire services option was intended to address ambiguity identified in prior Attorney General guidance about county authority over volunteer fire departments.

The commission amended the executive-structure question to specify that the mayor would be elected at large and to use the term "form of government" consistently. Commissioner Mary McCormick moved the change, Commissioner Cindi Shaw seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.

Commissioners also removed the phrase "serving as part-time elected officials" from the existing 12-commissioner legislative option after County Attorney Enrooth advised the current charter does not designate commissioners as part-time; that motion passed unanimously.

The most contested debate concerned the fire services governance question. Commissioner Matt Stepan moved to amend the unified fire services option by adding the sentence: "In addition, a volunteer fire coordinator shall be appointed by the volunteers." Commissioner Cindi Shaw seconded the motion. The amendment passed with an 8–1 vote; Commissioner Cindy Perdue-Dolan was the lone "No." The roll call recorded Yes votes from McCormick, Shaw, Silk, Dennehy, Stepan, Thielen, Casey and Chair Brandl.

Perdue‑Dolan had urged caution about moving forward without definitive guidance from the Secretary of State, and she expressed concern the Commission was continuing to modify language before that office had weighed in. Commissioners noted a previously adopted contingency: if the Secretary of State disallows the Commission's three-option format for fire services, a fallback two-option version approved earlier by a 6–3 vote would apply.

Chair Rayelynn Brandl said County Attorney Enrooth would provide the finalized ballot language to her for submission to the Secretary of State. The commission also set deadlines for completing its Final Report, which must be published by July 7, 2026, and appointed Commissioners Chad Silk and Lori Casey to assist with final edits.

The changes approved June 1 will be forwarded to the Secretary of State for review; the office's response will determine whether the three-option presentation, the unified option's authority language, or the amended coordinator clause appear on the ballot in their current forms.