Politics & Government

Missoula County Government: Missoula County Weekly: Aug. 9-13

See the latest announcement from the Missoula County Government .

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Press Release Desk, News Partner

Press release from the Missoula County Government:

08/09/2021 7:00 AM

The 2021 Western Montana Fair Takes Place Aug. 11 through 15! Visit missoulafairgrounds.com for more information on events and activities taking place.

Make sure to stay safe with the smoke. Find updates on current air quality!

Missoula County Commissioners will hold their preliminary budget hearing 2 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 11. A presentation on the budget will be made at this meeting, but no action will be taken. Members of the public and media can participate by attending the meeting in the Sophie Moiese Room in the Missoula County Courthouse or virtually by clicking the Microsoft Teams link or using the call-in information below. To provide comments, email bcc@missoulacounty.us or call (406) 258-4877. As a reminder: the more specific the comment, the more helpful it is for the commissioners when making their decision.

Find out what's happening in Missoulafor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Join the meeting virtually via Microsoft Teams.
Dial 1-406-272-4824 conference ID: 279 166 080# to join with audio only.
Find information on past budgets.

The Missoula County Commissioners will hold their next hearing on the resolution committing Missoula County to the principles of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion at their public meeting 2 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 12. Members of the public and media can participate by attending the meeting in the Sophie Moiese Room in the Missoula County Courthouse or virtually via Microsoft Teams. To provide comments, email bcc@missoulacounty.us or call (406) 258-4877.

Find out what's happening in Missoulafor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Find the agenda and call-in link.

Do you have ideas about where new paved trails should be within the county? Is there a missing section of trail that prevents you from using the trail system for recreating or getting to/from work, school, errands? Missoula County Parks, Trails and Open Lands program wants to hear from you! We are collecting input regarding our shared-use trail system to better meet the needs of our community. The focus is on the rural areas of the county that are outside of Missoula’s urban core. This includes communities such as Lolo, Bonner, Target Range and the Wye. Please consider taking five minutes to complete this survey. If you would like to learn more or join the mailing list to keep informed, click here.

Learn more about this project.

 

Tip of the Spear: Conversations with Dave, Josh and Juanita - Zoning Code Updates

This week Commissioners Josh Slotnick and Juanita Vero discuss zoning code updates with Community and Planning Services Senior Planner Andrew Hagemeier. https://youtu.be/DjyR5WNKAto Missoula County is embarking on a comprehensive zoning code audit and regulation update aimed at better reflecting the County’s 2016 growth policy and revised land use map. To learn about how to engage in the process, attend workshops and share your ideas visit www.mczoningupdate.com Aug.10, 12 to 1 p.m. - Online Workshop- Agricultural Lands Aug. 11, 4 to 7 p.m. Open House Event- Orchard Homes Country Life Club Aug. 12, 12 to 1 p.m. Online Workshop Aug. 17, 1 to 2 p.m. Steering Committee Meeting Aug. 18, 4 to 7 p.m. Open House Event- East Missoula Lions Park

Find the agenda and call-in link.

The Fair Event Committee seeks applicants for two three-year terms that end Sept. 30, 2021. The Fair Event Committee advises the Missoula Board of County Commissioners and represents the citizens of Missoula County in the planning and conducting of the annual fair event.
The Swan Valley Community Council seeks applicants to fill the remainder of a vacant term that runs through May 31, 2023. Council members act as a liaison between the citizens of the Swan Valley area and the county commissioners, providing information deemed useful, beneficial and helpful in decisions that affect the community.
The Missoula Rural Fire District seeks applicants to fill the remainder of a term that runs through May 31, 2024. Board members act as representatives of the citizens of the fire district in maintaining and promoting fire and emergency medical services.

The deadline to submit applications for the Fair Event Committee and Swan Valley Community Council is 3 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 31. The deadline for the Missoula Rural Fire District is 3 p.m. Friday, Sept. 3. Applications are available online.

No sooner than three business days before election day, the Elections Office staff start the process of removing the ballots from the secrecy envelopes. Working in teams of two using the reconciliation report, election judges confirm the number of secrecy envelopes matches the number on the report and confirms there is only one voted ballot that is the correct style and for the current election. Mis-sorted ballots (ballots which style do not match the style written on the report) or voided ballots are tracked on the accompanying report. An additional report is created to track any mis-sorted ballots. When the day comes, the ballots are counted by tabulator machines. The reconciliation report accompanies the ballots to the machine as they are counted. Staff then confirm the number of ballots counted by the tabulator machines matches the number on the reconciliation report and sign the report. Next comes the canvass. During this process, all reports are totaled and compared to reports generated by the voter database of the total number of envelopes received.

The Missoula County Elections Office has many processes in place to ensure the integrity of all elections. We’ll walk through those processes in this series, and constituents are always welcome to visit the Elections Center for an in-person tour.

Watch the slideshow below, and visit missoula.co/electionintegrity for more info on how your ballot is handled and processed.

Visit our Missoula County Events Calendar to see what events and classes the county is hosting!

Relief Court Clerk Maria Cassidy

“On January 2, 2008, I was fortunate enough to start my journey with the Clerk of Court office as a file clerk. Since then, I have moved into the position of a relief court clerk and feel blessed to be able to work with all our judges.

I prepare court calendars and cover all different types of hearings for the standing masters and district court judges, which I summarize with minute entries. I take care of various duties in our office such as electronic and manual filing of documents, email requests, answering telephone, written and in person inquiries from attorneys and the public, and help process mail. I also help with jury panels, jury questionnaires and related inquires, and at the front counter with customer service as needed. Currently I am also covering the appeals desk for cases that go to the Supreme Court. I very much enjoy the variety of tasks, as there is never a dull moment and always something new to learn. 

I see my primary role though as supporting the public in their various encounters with our office. Our goal is to serve the public and give the best possible fact-based assistance in a variety of matters such as divorces, parenting plans, grandparent visitations, name changes, probates, guardianships and conservatorships, dependent neglect matters, sanity matters, criminal matters and most likely everybody’s favorite: adoptions. One year, in collaboration with our staff and a judge, we were able to realize a child’s wish to be adopted for Christmas in one day’s work. Our office also issues marriage licenses and quite frequently we get to sign as witnesses for happy couples who come in to record their declaration of marriage. While our legal structure remains constant, there are always changes happening as far as the e-filing system with the Supreme Court and the procedure in search of finding more effective ways of dealing with issues and serving the public. One thing that brings great personal satisfaction to me is when I help someone feel less intimidated by the sheer amount of paperwork or the process itself and can bring a bit more clarity of what’s happening without getting into the murky waters of legal advice, which our office staff is not allowed to give.

The bottom line is that I would like for everybody who encounters our office to come away with a positive experience. It is our duty to treat everyone with respect and courtesy and to remain unbiased. I want to treat others as I would want to be treated if I were in their shoes, especially when faced with a stressful situation as might be the case when involved in a court matter.”

Missoula County recognizes watercraft inspection staff
Missoula Co. Officials provide COVID-19 update
Missoula County approves new position to help spearhead ‘Operation Shelter’
Acquisition of federal building creeps forward; relocating FBI, Secret Service at hand
Missoula County: Fire resources thin but initial attach poised for service
With revamped fairgrounds, Western Montana Fair begins next week

Make an appointment at covid19.missoula.co, and share your experience on social media with the hashtags #endthepandemic, #vaccinatethe406 and #gotmyshot406.

Stay up to date with Missoula County's COVID-19 vaccine distribution success! Visit covid19.missoula.co/vaccine-information and click on the Vaccination Distribution Map and Dashboard blue button. The data is updated every Monday. If you would like to track data across Montana, visit the Montana Response page.

To join commissioner department, administrative and public meetings via Microsoft Teams and view the agendas, visit the Missoula County Commissioners’ Meeting Minutes and Agenda Portal. Please note that agendas for department and administrative meetings are published two business days before the meeting, and public meeting agendas are published the Friday before the meeting. Administrative and public meeting video recordings are available on the Missoula County YouTube page after the meeting, and MCAT plays the public meetings live on their Spectrum Channel 190. Email bcc@missoulacounty.us or leave a voicemail at 406-258-4877 if you have any questions or comments on an upcoming meeting.

 

This press release was produced by the Missoula County Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.

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