What is the Council (Commission)?

In all forms of municipal government in Montana the council (which may be called the commission) is the governing body. The term commission is often used in commission‐manager form of municipal government, whereas the term council is commonly used to refer to the governing body in the council- mayor form of government. The two terms are
interchangeable. Legislative powers. All local legislative powers are vested by law in the governing body 7‐1‐4122, MCA and specifically include the legislative power, subject to state law, to adopt, amend and repeal ordinances and resolutions required to:

7-1-4123, MCA
1. Preserve peace and order and secure freedom from dangerous or noxious activities;
2. Secure and promote the general public health and welfare;
3. Provide any service or perform any function authorized or required by state law;
4. Exercise any power granted by state law;
5. Levy any tax, subject to the limits imposed by 15‐10‐420, authorized by state law for public or governmental purposes as described in7‐6‐2527,MCA;
6. Appropriate public funds;
7. Impose a special assessment reasonably related to the cost of any special service or special benefit provided by the municipality or impose a fee for the provision of a service;
8. Grant franchises; and
9. Provide for its own organization and the management of its affairs.

All of the powers indicated above, and any other power exercised by the governing body may only be exercised by the affirmative vote of a majority of the council members physically present or connected by electronic means in a lawful meeting of the council comprised of no less than a quorum (majority) of the whole number of council members. A city or town council of four members requires the participation of at least three of its members (not including the mayor) to constitute a quorum. In turn, that quorum of three must deliver at least a majority of two affirmative votes to adopt any measure. (Some measures require a super majority for adoption.) If the entire council of four members is present, a majority of three votes would be required to adopt a measure. Voting is council member’s governing power. Upon reflection, a prudent council/ commission member will realize that the only governing power he or she possesses is the power to vote on issues before the commission. A vote for or against a measure is the extent of an individual member’s governing power.

President of the council

The council is enabled by law to elect from among its number an individual member to serve as presiding officer of the council in the absence of the mayor 7‐4‐4403 and 7‐3‐220, MCA. This position is commonly referred to as the president of the council. The individual retains all of the voting rights of a council member and does not assume any other responsibility of the mayor. Legislative committees. Although not required by law, most municipal councils in the council-­‐mayor form of government establish working committees comprised of some number of members less than a quorum of the whole council. The members of these legislative committees should be appointed for a term by resolution of the council. The role of these legislative committees is to study pending issues in detail in order to make knowledgeable recommendations to the whole council.

The most frequently encountered legislative Committees are: budget and finance, public works, parks and recreation, and streets and alleys committees. Encountered in some governments is “personnel” or “human resource” committee. In general, the creation of such a committee opens the door to significant conflict with the executive branch and may expose the government to considerable risk of violating the 2. Governing the Municipality 27 privacy rights of individual employees. The creation of a “personnel committee” is not recommended. A grievance committee, on the other hand, may serve a useful appellate function to review certain employee grievances arising in the executive branch. Such a committee should only be created as an integral component of a carefully crafted and legally sufficient grievance policy developed by the executive branch for consideration by the council. (See Chapter III Human Resource Management for a detailed discussion of municipal grievance policies).