Editorial: Why Big Sky Needs to Incorporate 8-07
(Copy of the a guest editorial we published in the local papers in August, 2007)
Somewhere between 1500 and 2000 people live in Big Sky, ranking this community in the top third of cities in Montana. These residents include people who are essential to the function of Big Sky as a world class resort: local business people and their employees, outfitters, guides, medical professionals, emergency services workers, teachers, contractors and trades people, ski instructors and patrollers, and on and on. They want to live, work and raise families here – in the true sense of a community, not just a resort. Those who vacation here depend on them for the quality of their experience in Big Sky.
Municipal government is designed to deliver services locally to a community. County government is designed to collect taxes for the state, not run cities. In the absence of a municipality, the counties have been instrumental in forming special districts to provide essential services (Fire, Water & Sewer, School, Resort Tax). That’s the good news; the bad news is that all these entities function independently, with no single point of accountability. BSOA has also taken on a number of “pseudo-municipal” roles (e.g., parks, trails), wisely creating BSCC to separate these activities from its homeowners association. But BSCC is not a municipal corporation, so it is limited in what it can do.
Big Sky still faces a number of problems that the counties cannot or will not address. Law enforcement resources are inadequate, covenants are not enforceable, road maintenance is the responsibility of a hodge-podge of homeowners associations and RID’s, and affordable housing presents a big hurdle for families. At the same time, Big Sky is a huge contributor to the economies of both Gallatin and Madison counties, but neither appears willing to return the favor to our community. (One needs look no further than Gallatin County’s recent refusal to help fund the Skyline bus link.) Thanks to the Resort Tax, we have at least some locally collected tax revenue that is actually spent locally in Big Sky. But not being a municipality means that Big Sky forgoes a wide array of opportunities for grants, taxes and other funding sources from both Federal and State governments.
The Big Sky Chamber of Commerce has patiently supported a working group of citizens researching the details relevant to incorporation. This work has been reported to the community in public meetings, and the response has been to encourage progress toward bringing this issue to the voters. Here are the next steps. A proposed boundary for the City of Big Sky must be defined. We are currently surveying the homeowners associations in Gallatin County regarding this issue. Legal questions related to the Resort Tax arise from incorporating a municipality within the existing unincorporated resort area district. This has never happened before in, and will likely require an official opinion from the State Attorney General to resolve. Given the importance of the Resort Tax to this community, answers are needed. But eventually the issue will be presented to the community in the form of a petition. Three hundred signatures from registered voters residing within the proposed boundary are required. Gallatin County must then approve the petition, and conduct a census within the boundaries. Then it will be placed on a ballot for the voters to decide by a simple majority. If approved, the new municipal corporation would be formed, and officials elected to take the process forward.
Once potential boundaries are defined, our committee will again hold public meetings this fall for community discussion, input and consensus. Stay tuned and take the time to tell us what you think. In the meantime, questions can be directed to the Chamber of Commerce at marne@bigskychamber.com
This editorial was submitted by fulltime residents Steve Johnson, Dick Fast and Kay Reeves, core members of the Chamber’s Community & Infrastructure Committee which has been studying the merits and requirements of municipal incorporation for, in their words, “what seems like years because it has been.” Watch this paper for notice of their next meeting.
