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title: What is the Purpose of Municipal Classification?
description: "\"Learn how Montana classifies municipalities by population and other factors to guide statewide laws and protect local governance under constitutional limits.\""
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January 21, 2026

# What is the Purpose of Municipal Classification?

## Understanding Municipal Classification in Montana

Municipal classification is a system of categorization of municipalities based upon some shared attribute or circumstance, such as the size of the population or the value of taxable property within the local jurisdiction. The primary purpose of assigning all of a state’s similarly situated cities and towns to a particular class is to enable the state legislature to adopt statewide laws governing municipal operations while accommodating the distinctive  
characteristics and needs of the different classes of municipalities. For example, a statewide law requiring that every incorporated municipality have a fire department that must be organized and managed pursuant to state law 7-33‐4101, MCA, specifically exempts third-class cities and towns by permitting any of these smaller municipalities to contract with rural volunteer departments or other local fire departments. Presumably, there is, in this case, a reasonable relationship between the smaller population of a typical, Montana third-class city or town and the need for and affordability of a full‐time paid fire department. Thus, a municipal  
classification system makes it possible for the legislature to write a single statute concerning some aspect of municipal governance, such as fire protection, while dealing in a practical and even‐handed way with similarly situated Montana Municipal Officials Handbook 8 cities and towns. A secondary purpose of establishing a system of municipal classification is to restrain legislative interference in the local affairs of an individual community. For example, Article V, Section 12 of the Montana State Constitution forbids the legislature from passing a special or local act when a general act is, or can be made, applicable. More than half of all state constitutions, as well as Montana’s earlier constitution, include some version of this constitutional barrier to direct legislative involvement in the affairs of a particular municipal government. Presumably, therefore, a hypothetical “local act” adopted by the state legislature requiring the City of Helena to appoint, rather than elect its city judge, would be struck down by the courts as an unconstitutional invasion of local authority under the general law 7‐4-4101, MCA which requires that first‐class cities must elect their city judges.

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Resources prepared by the MSU Extension Local Government Center are intended for educational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. For interpretation or application of the law, please consult qualified legal counsel. The Montana State University Extension Service is an ADA/EO/AA/Veteran’s Preference Employer and Provider of Educational Outreach.

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